Into The Light
by Malenkaya
Summary: RE movie fanfic SECOND IN A TRILOGY. What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. reenter the Hive in search of a cure. Last chapter up!
1. Chapter One: So Close, So Far Away

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing 

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy) What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or its characters.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as their explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Yay, first chapter of "Into the Light" is finally up! :) A thousand thanks to all who've continued to read and review all throughout "Fading Away" and I hope that all of you, as well as any new readers, enjoy this next installment of the trilogy!

And there is finally a M/A scene for all those who have been asking for one! LOL!

"Y" is, again, for spaces.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter One: So Close, So Far Away

The Hive was no longer just a tomb anymore, no longer just an example of experiments gone wrong.

The Hive was a prison.

Umbrella had locked it's own teams down there when it had realized how bad the situation was, left them to be torn apart, mutilated, by their own sick creations.

But they hadn't locked the Hive up in time. Because the world above her was shattered, thrown into a thousand pieces by what had already escaped the Hive- zombies, Lickers, God knew what else... and, of course, Hades. Quite possibly the worst mutation Umbrella had managed to create- and completely by mistake.

She'd thought that Nemesis, when she'd first seen the test results, was terrible- but, then, one simply had to look at the names to realize which was the worst of the two. Nemesis, God of vengeance; or Hades, God of the Underworld?

Whatever the case, Umbrella's fixation on Greek mythology was surprising. Especially considering their general names like the Lickers and the applicable but cliché "zombies".

Really, Umbrella's virus carriers were so much more proficient than Hollywood zombies- because they, above all others, could be brought back from the dead, and then cured completely.

Except Umbrella refused to administer the serum to the population of Raccoon City. It hadn't been tested yet, she realized that- but people out there were dead anyways, as a result of _their_ experimentation. They owed it to them to at least try.

But, as William Archangelo had explained to her thousands of times, they owed nothing to Raccoon.

To Archangelo, the people of Raccoon were simply toys, simply more "specimens".

But she couldn't bring herself to care anymore, and she didn't want to argue. It might ruin her chances with the diabolical Umbrella employee in charge of Raccoon City's fate.

Because as much as she detested the arrogant bastard, he was her only hope of escaping the Hive.

Not that he was being much help right now.

"I told you," she explained patiently, "I'm the only one down here. I can make it to the train station, you'd only have to open the doors for a moment—"

"Ms. Alderic," Archangelo cut in smoothly. "I am fully aware of your... capabilities- and yet there is too much risk in your plan. Like I've told you before, you're going to have to stay down there until we're able to send another team to get you."

"And when will that be?" she demanded.

"I'm unable to say at the present time."

_God damn it, Archangelo. _"Sir," she began instead, "There's no food or water down here, the place is full of zombies. If you don't send a team down here soon, it's going to be too late."

She forced her voice to remain calm, forced herself not to voice any of the insults she longed to hurl at him. Her rescue depended on her performance.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

And then he hung up on her.

She stared in disbelief at the Umbrella issued cell phone she held in her hands. Part of her noticed the red light blinking, signifying the cell was nearly out of batteries- but the other part of her was all too caught up in Archangelo's words to care.

He was _sorry_? He didn't fucking sound sorry.

She'd never spoken to Archangelo personally before, but had heard from her teammates that he was a complete dickhead, an arrogant moron who couldn't care less about her team.

Naïve as she was- she was 24, but guilty of acting younger occasionally- she hadn't believed him. After all, nobody liked their boss.

Except, in the two weeks since her team had disappeared, probably been horribly mutilated, she'd realized, based on her frequent phone calls, that not only were their comments about him true- but almost complimentary to him, based on his actual personality.

It was because of his arrogance, his complete indifference to her fate that she was trapped here, probably destined to die along with the rest of her team. She had no family- nobody would miss her or report her missing. All thanks to Archangelo.

God, she hated him.

But this wasn't the time or place for it. When she got out of the Hive, she'd take her records, all she knew, to the police and expose Umbrella to the public. The Corporation was evil, and despite the ignorance she'd managed to display, refusing to believe what she heard about them in favor of the enormous paycheck they granted her, she'd finally realized the truth.

Umbrella needed to be shut down.

But for now, Olivia Alderic curled up in the ventilation tunnel she had wedged herself into and cried.

y

The whole house had fallen silent after her proclamation.

When they should have been discussing ideas, theories, any strategy they had to infiltrate and carry out another inspection of the Hive, instead they were separated, all involved in their own activities and none of them talking.

They were all thinking about the same thing though. About Matt, about his mutation- and about infiltrating the Hive again.

Rain sat in the kitchen with J.D as Michael stitched up her neck. They were all quiet- Alice hadn't heard anything from them since they'd left except the occasional whispered profanity from Rain.

Whatever Michael was doing, it sounded painful. Though, Alice mused, there was a reason for anesthesia, after all.

That was mainly the reason for J.D's presence, to distract Rain, and she could hear him joking around with her every once in awhile. She'd answer, in the same teasing tone- but both sounded stiff, their laughter forced.

Alice sat where she was in the living room armchair, the chair's base swiveled around so she was looking at the doorway to the room her, Matt, Rain and J.D shared.

The bedroom Matt was sleeping in right now.

The file was still in her hands, and while she should have been studying it, looking for information that would prove useful to entering the Hive, instead she was staring at the door, thinking about what she was going to tell him.

The team had voted her as the official spokesperson in telling Matt what had happened. Despite a slight bit of resentment, she understood the reasonability of the decision- she was probably the only person Matt would listen to right now.

Not that it had stopped him from hitting her.

She shook the thought aside in irritation. She couldn't hold it against him- it hadn't been his fault, after all. It had been Nemesis in control, not Matt.

But she still couldn't shake the feeling that she had somehow been betrayed.

Fortunately, her thoughts were interrupted by the squeaking of bedsprings from the door in front of her.

Matt was waking up.

The rest of them knew it too- Alice could tell by the way conversation in the kitchen had crashed to a halt.

They were all silent, staring at the door—

Which opened, and Matt came out, shaking the sleep out of his head, his hair mussed. His white shirt and pants, both Umbrella issued and stocked in the house, were wrinkled and messy, and he looked like a little boy woken from a nap.

He looked up at her, and she was relieved to see his bright blue eyes instead of dark red ones.

"What happened?" he asked.

She stared at him, suddenly realizing that, despite all her careful planning, she still had absolutely no idea what to say to him.

As if sensing the awkwardness between the two, conversation in the kitchen suddenly reached a chipper high point, all three occupants talking loudly as if trying to stifle the silence.

He looked in surprise at the kitchen and then back at her, his expression showing sudden realization that something was going on, that something important had happened in the time he'd been unconscious.

"Alice, what happened?" he asked again, his tone demanding now.

She stood up. "We should talk in your room," she told him softly as she made her way past him.

She sat down on the mussed bed as he shut the door behind him, coming to sit in front of her. Fixing her with those inquiring eyes he asked quietly, "What's going on?"

She sighed. "What's the last thing you remember?"

A flash of guilt spread over his face as he answered. "I was fighting with Rain, yelling at her- I told you to shut up."

He looked straight at her, his face painfully earnest. "I'm sorry about that. I am. I just- God, I don't know why, but I haven't been able to control my temper lately."

She flushed. If he was this upset about what he'd said, how would he react when she told him what had happened?

"Matt," she told him softly. "I'm not mad. I promise. Nobody is. But there's something I have to tell you."

And she told him. She told him about him hitting Rain, J.D, her; told him about Michael knocking him out, about their reading session, about all Umbrella had done to him.

She told him he was mutating. That they were re-entering the Hive.

When she'd finished, there was utter silence in the air. Matt stared at the ground, his expression blank as she watched him anxiously, waiting for some kind of reaction.

She had been prepared for him to be shocked, to be upset, even angry.

But she'd never thought he'd react the way he would.

Instead of saying anything more, he only pointed to the door, his chin balanced on his other hand as he continued to stare at the floor. "Go."

"Matt, please-"

He looked up at her, and the expression in his eyes was pained rather than angry. "Just go, Alice."

As she slowly rose, making her way out of the room, she barely made out his last words as she opened the door.

"I need be alone for awhile."

And she closed the door, walking quickly to the kitchen to talk to the others, blinking away tears as she did so.

y

It was twelve o'clock now.

More than five hours had passed since she'd left Matt in the bedroom, alone with his thoughts.

He still hadn't emerged.

Michael had gone to bed hours earlier and her, Rain, and J.D sat in the living room together, watching TV. Most reception had been cut off and the screen flickered dully on all stations besides the one they were watching, a black and white cartoon one. The colors made it look positively ancient, even though the image currently superimposed on the screen was one of Dexter blasting off in his spaceship through the hole in his laboratory roof.

Rain and J.D sat on the couch together, lit only by the flickering light of the tv. They both looked tired, lost in their own thoughts as they stared at the screen, Rain's head on J.D's shoulder. Her left eye had already begun to swell up, turning a dark black color, and next to J.D's right black eye, not quite as bad as hers, the two made almost a comical impression. Along with the rest of the house, both wore Umbrella-issued clothing, J.D dressed in a pair of boxers and a tee shirt and Rain in another men's tee.

The clothes in the house had been fit for both her and Spence, and after trying on three different pairs of pajamas, Rain had finally given up on her search for a decently fitting pair of pajamas in favor for the shirt, which she absolutely swam in, the black fabric reaching almost down to her knees.

Both Rain and J.D were completely tuned into the tv, impervious to the thoughts racing through her head.

She too was dressed in her night attire, a simple pair of pajamas, with her hair brushed and her face clean. Completely ready for bed in all shapes and forms, the only thing that stood between her and sleep was nervousness at entering the bedroom.

She wanted to give Matt his privacy, let him think things over- but she also wanted to rid herself of that reasonability and give way to her instincts, which was to run in there and somehow try to help Matt.

Finally deciding on a resolution, she stood up abruptly. J.D and Rain both turned to look at her, Rain asking sleepily, "Are you going in to see him?"

She nodded wordlessly and J.D cast her a comforting smile. "He'll probably be happy to see you. Don't worry."

She nodded again, and with a quiet "good night" left the room, entering the bedroom slowly.

She shut the door softly behind her.

The lamp next to the bed was on and Matt sat on his side of it, his back turned towards her.

When they'd first started living together, all six of them, her and Rain had shared the bed, J.D and Matt, the foldout couch.

But after Rain had recovered, after Matt had become more hostile, the two had switched places, mainly to exert a calming influence on both, and Matt had chosen the left of the bed instantly. "It's good luck," he'd explained to her, and she'd been absolutely fine with that explanation.

Now he sat there, his back to her, and she wondered as she stood in front of the closed door if she should say anything.

Making her way to the bed, she slid onto it carefully, trying unconsciously to be as quiet as possible as she began to pull back the covers—

And stopped. She didn't care what was going through Matt's head right now, she had to say _something._ "Matt?"

He turned to look at her then, and she was shocked to see the tears streaking his face, moving forwards instantly to put an arm around him as he turned fully. "What's wrong?"

A stupid question, she knew. There were a thousand things wrong. And even if he had something particular in mind, what advice could she give him? "It'll all be okay"?

Neither of them was naïve enough to believe that.

Matt shook his head, took a deep breath before answering, "I just- I can't control it. I hit you, I hit Rain, J.D- and it's only going to get worse."

"You didn't hit me," she told him softly.

"What?" he asked, sounding confused.

She hesitated, but it had to be said: "You threw me into a wall, actually. But you never hit me."

He sighed. "What's the difference?" he asked rhetorically, before turning to face her, his eyes bright. "Before I mutate, I'm going to hurt you again. All of you. And when we go into the Hive, if anybody dies, it'll be my fault."

She shook her head. "Matt—" was all she could get out before he threw himself into her arms and hugged her tightly.

She returned the embrace as tightly as she could, her heart shattering as she did so. Matt was too strong for this, shouldn't have to break down the way he was.

He didn't cry, but gripped her forcefully, making his need for contact and reassurance painfully obvious.

When he finally pulled back she gripped his arms tightly still, looking into his eyes, marveling at the way his face shone like an angel's in the dim lamplight.

And then she kissed him.

And he kissed her back.

It was both sudden and expected, tender and forceful, and as Alice kissed him, a tiny part of him wondered if she was doing the right thing, if they weren't just reacting with physical intimacy to emotional intimacy.

Matt's hands fumbled over the buttons on her pajama top as he began to unbutton the first two—

And then pulled back abruptly, panting. His face was flushed as he looked at her longingly, asking softly, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

She stared at his lamp lit face, unsure. It was all passion, felt like only passion—

But she loved him. And she trusted him.

That was all she needed.

In answer, she leaned forward, capturing his mouth in another kiss, breaking it only for a moment as she tugged his shirt over his head. His hands returned to her pajama top, to the buttons he'd been unbuttoning earlier.

And as he lowered her gently onto the bedspread, his hands dancing over her body, eyes intense with passion, the noise of the cartoons next door, the worries over the Hive and Kaplan- all of it vanished, leaving her in a world where she knew only tonight.

y

It was big, and it was smooth, and it was covered in chocolate, and as J.D shoved it into his mouth, ripping off another bite, he couldn't help but reflect on how delicious a brownie, after so many weeks of shitty oatmeal, tasted.

He ambled into the living room, still chewing on the brownie, and received the shock of his life when he realized the lights were on, the TV was off, and Rain was sitting on the couch reading.

Catching his disbelieving expression, Rain rolled her eyes at him before pointedly returning to her book.

Unable to help it, he asked, "So what are you reading, anyway?"

She closed the book in answer, waving it at him. "A baby book of names." Off another disbelieving look she shrugged, saying defensively, "It was the only book down here that's not about fucking geography, all right?"

He shrugged, grinned at her. "So what's my name mean then?"

"Jacob means 'supplanter', and Dominic means 'belonging to God'" she said lazily, continuing to flip through the book. She'd obviously looked both up already.

He nodded. "So what's yours mean?"

"Closest is Rainy," she said cheerfully. "Which means 'mighty'."

J.D snickered. "Sounds good to me, Rainy."

She looked up at him, amused. "Call me that again and I'll kill you."

He snorted at that. "Yeah, I bet you will." She laughed, and he grinned at her. "I'm tired though, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow."

He turned and made for the bedroom door, throwing over his shoulder, "Happy reading, Rainy," before smashing the last of his brownie in his mouth and opening the door—

And slamming it shut again, feeling his face flush as he turned to look at Rain, who looked amused. "Why didn't you tell me Matt and Alice were in there?" he hissed at her.

She snickered. "Where's the fun in that?"

He rolled his eyes, walking over and falling on the couch next to her—

And then, grabbing the blue throw pillow next to him, grabbed it and whapped Rain in the head, hard enough to make her drop the book she was reading.

Rain whipped around, searching for a throw pillow- finding none, she grabbed for J.D's instead, yanking it out of his hands even as he tackled her to the couch, tickling her ribs as she laughed helplessly and whapped him on the head with the pillow—

And then, in attempt to kick him, kicked the table, sending a mug to the floor with a muffled crash.

Both bolted upright, J.D still straddling her legs, and stared at the bedroom door.

Not a sound was heard from inside either of the rooms, so they focused instead on the coffee spilling over the carpet from the broken mug for a moment before Rain, reaching forward, shoved the magazines covering the table onto the floor as well, effectively hiding the stain.

She looked at him, and they both laughed as she extracted her legs from underneath him, both shifting back into sitting positions as Rain picked her book up off the floor.

J.D wondered if Matt and Alice, judging by the silence now emanating from their room, were sleeping yet.

Either that, or they just had very heavy doors.

That conjured up images, all sorts of bad images, and he shook them off, trying to focus on something else.

"So how long do you think they've been, uh-" he started to say intelligently.

Rain quirked an eyebrow, grinning at him. "Having sex?" She volunteered helpfully.

He rolled his eyes at her, and she laughed. "I doubt before now. They don't seem the type to, y'know, be secretive about it."

He nodded. "It isn't exactly unexpected though, is it?"

Rain threw her book down in a fit of exasperation. "It's fucking _annoying_, is what it is. I wanna go to sleep."

"Looks like we'll be sleeping with Michael, then," J.D told her, wandering off towards the room him and Kaplan had shared.

He was halfway there when he realized Rain hadn't moved. Looking back at her, he realized she was staring at the door, her look hesitating. "In Kaplan's bed?" she asked, looking disturbed by the idea.

He shrugged at her. "We don't really have a choice," he pointed out. Stretching his hand out to her, he said softly, "Come on."

She walked past him in response, completely ignoring his outstretched hand as she opened the door to the room. J.D rolled his eyes as he spun around to follow.

They tiptoed silently into the room, noticing as they did Michael asleep on the sofa bed.

Making their way through the darkness, both reached the king sized bed, crawling into the lush covers on either side. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, J.D could see Rain lying next to him, the blankets pulled up to her chin. Her expression was thoughtful, almost timid, and he asked quietly, "What are you thinking about?"

She looked at him in the darkness, faltered- and then said quietly, "It feels like Kaplan's here."

J.D thought about pointing out how nonsensical the statement sounded, but in the end, vetoed the option. Normally he wouldn't have been able to resist the opportunity to bug Rain about it- but with her staring at him with those huge brown eyes, that uncommonly timid expression on her face, he couldn't bring himself to bother.

The fact that he missed Kaplan too- and, despite himself, understood what she meant- helped as well.

"I know," he whispered instead.

She lapsed into silence, staring up at the ceiling.

And then she rolled over, wrapping her arms around him as he pulled her closer to him in return. Her soft hair, loose from it's ever-present braid, brushed against his jaw as she settled her head into his shoulder and he rested her chin on the back of her head.

She gave a small sigh and seemed to visibly relax, and J.D couldn't help the surge of protectiveness that rushed through him then.

Rain was never timid, was rarely vulnerable- but with firstly her virus-related injuries, the loss of Kaplan, and now, her new black eye, she suddenly seemed so much more fragile than he'd ever seen her before.

Rain was his best friend, practically his sister. What they had went deeper than stupid fights, or the temporary love lovers shared.

He would do anything for her.

He hoped she knew that.

J.D closed his eyes, and let blackness wash over him.

y

The cold metal of the mesh cut into Olivia's back as she leaned against it, her feet up on the edge of the pipe in front of her, wedged in the most uncomfortable position possible.

Reaching out to her side, she flipped off the cell phone, resolving to stop leaving it on all the time.

Archangelo wasn't going to come for her. No one was.

And so she leaned her head back against the mesh, trying vainly to squeeze the blood and gunk, the same stuff that resided on all of the clothes she wore, out of her hair.

Giving up on the futile activity, she clasped her hands in her lap, the only place there was room for them, and closed her eyes.

But even without the uncomfortable metal, the drenched, filthy clothing and the endless loneliness, the sounds of the monsters who journeyed the Hive kept her awake long after dawn.


	2. Chapter Two: Abandoned World

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing 

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or its characters.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as their explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Again, a thousand thanks for all the reviews and comments, they're all, as always, greatly appreciated!

Again: If you haven't read FADING AWAY (check my page for a link), this will be confusing :)

"Y", once again, is for spaces. Does anyone know how to make actual spaces? I'd really appreciate suggestions, lol!

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Two: Abandoned World

It was 6:02 by the time Michael finally woke up.

Gazing blearily at the clock as he pushed himself up onto his elbows, he considered briefly staying in bed and trying to sleep in longer, but vetoed the idea as quickly as it'd come.

He'd barely slept, had tossed and turned all night, and though he was still exhausted, it wasn't as if he'd get any more sleep anyways.

He doubted anyone had after last night.

Sitting up, he grabbed his Umbrella-issued bathrobe from where it hung over the headboard of the bed, glancing over at the bed as he did so.

He'd had a lot of weird dreams last night, none of them particularly happy, but he remembered in great detail a dream of someone- probably Kaplan- entering the room and getting into bed. It was typical, he supposed- but he'd been unnerved by the realism of it all.

Shaking the thoughts from his head he stood, folding the bathrobe over his arm and striding towards the bathroom, hoping no one else was awake yet. Every single morning, it seemed, he was the last one up; and so every single morning, he was the one who had to wait an hour for a hot shower.

Humming absentmindedly, he crossed the room, placing his hand on the doorknob—

And stopped, looking back at the bed.

J.D and Rain were both there, sound asleep in a mess of tangled limbs, looking for all the world like two in a litter of newborn puppies.

Michael smiled, despite himself. He hadn't been expecting to see them there, but they both looked at peace for once. And at least it explained the realism of last night's dream.

Humming cheerfully, he walked into the bathroom, dropped his bathrobe and discarded clothes on the counter and climbed into the shower.

The hot water rushing over him was pure bliss after a week of lukewarm showers and he spent over an hour in it, waiting until the hot water was completely gone before reaching down and turning off the tap. Pulling the bathrobe on, he exited the room and was completely unsurprised to see the bed empty. Rain and J.D were both early wakers, whereas Alice and Matt could generally sleep until noon if given the choice.

Tightening the belt of his bathrobe, Michael left the room, wandering into the kitchen instead.

Rain and J.D both sat at the table, J.D pouring coffee into two mugs and Rain staring intently at a magazine open in front of her. Looking up, J.D gestured at him with the coffee pot. Understanding his unspoken question Michael handed him a mug as he sat down, marveling at J.D's black eye as he did.

J.D shoved the mug across the table to him and he took it, breaking the silence as he said softly, "So has Alice spoken to Matt again?"

Rain looked up at that, grinning at J.D, and as Michael looked at her, he couldn't mask the shocked expression he knew flooded his face. Rain looked worse than J.D, if that were possible- her left eye had swelled almost completely shut, the whole area bruised purple and black, and she sported a split lip as well.

Catching his expression, Rain rolled her eyes at him in obvious annoyance and said, "There's a reason we slept in your room last night, y'know."

Michael gazed at her, surprised despite himself. He'd never imagined Matt and Alice to be the type to fight long enough to force Rain and J.D to sleep somewhere else. They'd always seemed more rational than that.

"So you couldn't sleep in your room because—" he began.

He was cut off by J.D, who commented, "Otherwise occupied."

Michael stared at him, understanding suddenly dawning on him. "You mean—I mean, you and Rain are—"

Rain laughed at that, looking up from her magazine again. "Yeah, _right._ He was talking about Matt and Alice, dumb ass."

"Oh." He flushed slightly, then laughed. "Yeah. Sorry."

J.D shrugged, then grinned at him. "Whatever. Don't worry about Rain, she's just cranky."

Rain looked up at him, a glare fixated on her face, and then grinned. "Whatever, J.D."

They all looked towards the door as Matt crept in, clad in another bathroom, a peaceful little smile plastered onto his face. "Hey," he said sleepily.

Michael stared at him, and Rain smirked. "Hey, Matt."

Seemingly realizing that something was up, Matt's sleepy expression vanished, replaced by one of embarrassment as he took in Michael's blush and Rain and J.D's cocky grins. He cleared his throat. "I'm guessing everyone knows what happened last night."

Their response was laughter, and he blushed slightly, rolling his eyes at all of them as he sat down next to Michael. He seemed to catch sight of Rain as he did and a flash of concern spread across his face. His expression was pained as he reached out to brush Rain's hair back lightly, exposing her black eye. "Rain, I'm—"

"Sorry," she finished for him, looking annoyed as she flipped a page. "I know."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She smiled at him then. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've gotten black eyes before, you know."

He smiled softly at her, and said, "Probably not that bad."

She rolled her eyes at him then, returning to her magazine, and J.D laughed. "What, Matt, you're not worried about my black eye?"

Matt turned to look at him, a bashful grin spreading over his face. "I'm sorry, J.D."

He nodded in mock solemnity, telling him with elaborate grace, "I accept your apology, Matt."

Matt shook his head, laughing despite himself- and then stopped, the same dopey look crossing his face as the kitchen door opened again and Alice walked in.

Michael smiled as he watched her give Matt a brief kiss before sitting down across from him. They both seemed so happy, so gentle and at peace- so unlike anyone ever was in this house.

J.D and Rain, to his surprise, were both quiet, Rain staring at her magazine and J.D looking at the two with a small smile on his face.

Alice seemed to notice their silence as well as she said cheerfully, "Morning, everyone."

Her remark was met by similar ones all around as she poured herself a cup of coffee and everyone settled in.

Looking around, Michael couldn't help but reflect on how ridiculous they all looked in their matching Umbrella robes. Matching, except for the color- Rain wore a red one, Alice, a white one, and Matt, J.D, and himself wore blue, black, and green bathrobes. To be philosophical, it was funny in a way how well the colors matched the wearer's personalities- Rain in her bright, vibrant red, Alice in her peaceful, soft white one. Blue represented knowledge and peace, if Michael remembered correctly- fitting Matt, who was a lot smarter than most assumed, to a tee. A mysterious color, black fit J.D well, who, despite the fact he never stopped talking, Michael could never really tell what was going on his head.

And green... represented earth. Rationality. Which, Michael mused, really was who he sort of was in the group. They each had their separate place, and Michael had finally begun to find his after three weeks with them.

Rain was the youngest, the most tempermental, of their group. Above all the others, she was the one who often had to be held back from the risk of her own impulsiveness- but she was also the one entirely capable of reducing the group's tension. J.D was her partner in crime in the same task, and Alice, besides being an unspoken leader, was the calming influence in the group. Matt seemed to be the leader in an entirely different way than Alice was, intense and confidant, and Michael—

Well, he was the rational one. He was the one who convinced Rain and J.D when their impulsive plans were too risky, he was the one who could- on some occasions- manage to talk Matt out of a fight with Rain, and he was the one who, above all the rest, was able to speak philosophically with Alice.

All in all, it wasn't a bad place to be.

At least it never got him into fights or arguments.

Matt and Alice by now had moved into the typical happy-morning-after act of blissful little smiles and love-struck eyes and sat across from each other, speaking quietly every so often. Rain and J.D were quiet, so far, besides the odd exchanged eye rolls from where they sat next to the two.

And Michael sat at the head of the table, watching everything take place.

"So," Matt said finally, softly, glancing at Alice. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," Alice told him, a small smile crossing her face. "Did you?"

He grinned. "Yeah."

Their touching reunion was interrupted by a gagging noise and they all turned to look at Rain, an exasperated look on Matt's face and one of amusement on Alice's.

Looking up from her magazine, she seemed surprised to see everyone staring at her and said defensively, "What? I'm sorry, and it's great that you guys are together and everything, but you two are way too fucking mushy." Dumping the magazine on her lap, she sent J.D a half-lidded smile across the table and whispered, "J.D."

He grinned at her, adopted the same expression. "Rain," he said breathily.

Alice laughed, and Matt joined in, rolling his eyes at them. "Thanks, Rain," he said dryly.

"And J.D." She protested. "He was playing you, Matt, in case you couldn't tell."

Matt snorted. "We could tell." Alice laughed, and he grinned at her, the same dopey grin, instigating a snort from Rain, who tossed her magazine on the table and stood up.

"I'm going to go take a shower or something," she said cheerfully.

J.D stood up as well as she walked around the table, commenting, "Yeah, we'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

Matt rolled his eyes for the hundredth time that morning, and Alice just laughed again. "Bye, J.D." she told him sardonically.

Rain laughed as she headed for the door and then suddenly stopped, turning around as she grabbed the doorknob. "Wait, what time are we leaving?"

Her question was met with looks of confusion, and she elaborated. "For the Hive?"

The reaction was immediate. The cheerful looks vanished, moody expressions and tension replacing the once happy atmosphere of the kitchen and Rain flushed. Michael noticed this with both amusement and some sort of satisfaction. Rain never blushed. In fact, nobody did but him. It was nice to see someone else red-faced for once.

"Sorry to ruin the mood," Rain apologized, "But we should probably get going pretty soon."

Alice nodded. "I know, Rain," she told her, sounding tired. "Just get ready to go. We'll leave when everyone's ready."

Rain nodded, exiting the kitchen, J.D following with a last salute to Matt. When they were gone, Matt turned to Alice, asking quietly, "What will we need?"

Michael couldn't help but marvel at the way Matt was able to switch characters so easily. One moment he was cheerful and amusing, almost silly, and in the next he was brisk and businesslike, working out everything they needed to do.

"We're going to need to bring along the anti-virus, lots of it," Alice told him softly. "And sleeping bags and pillows, because we'll probably be stuck sleeping there if we can find a decent place. And maybe the files would be useful, and some basic provisions..."

Michael tuned out the rest, staring down at his half full mug of coffee. The black liquid swam in his vision and he was suddenly reminded of Kaplan, of that last terrifying look into his eyes before they'd run.

He wondered if that would be him next.

He'd never even been in the Hive, didn't know what they were facing. From what he knew, last time they'd been down there, the entire Umbrella S.W.A.T. team had been killed.

But it didn't matter. There was no point in thinking about the risks.

Because like it or not, they were going back into the Hive, and this time, Michael was coming with them.

y

The water was cold. In fact, it was fucking _freezing,_ and Rain couldn't help but wonder exactly how long Michael's goddamn shower had been.

Not that it mattered. Not really. In a way, she liked cold showers.

And this was probably the cleanest she'd be for the next two weeks while they stumbled around in the mess of rotting zombies and monsters that made up the Hive.

_Might as well make the best of it, right?_

And anyway, what did it matter?

There was probably enough water left for a warm bath, if she'd wait for a few minutes, as J.D had so efficiently pointed out to her. After, of course, he'd jumped in and taken up all ten minutes of the remaining hot water.

Well, whatever. Her and J.D were best friends, but that didn't mean he didn't spend every spare moment aggravating her. Or vice versa.

But a bath was out of the question, either way. Rain didn't like baths. Not anymore. Swimming pools, hot tubs, anything with extra people was okay, but baths had bad associations with her, ones she doubted would ever leave her subconscious mind.

Shivering, she reached down and turned off the tap before stepping out of the shower and wrapping herself in a fluffy white towel, noting as she did the small Umbrella logo on the bottom right corner.

Their fucking logo was on everything in the entire house. It was to be expected of Umbrella, but weird just the same. They'd spent all this time fighting against Umbrella, and now they were surrounded by it's stigma again.

Wiping the smoky condensation off the mirror, she towel dried her hair. A simple braid- like she'd worn the first time- would probably be best in the Hive. It'd stay out of her face that way, at least.

Sometimes she wondered why she didn't just chop it all off, cut it shoulder length, sort of like Alice's maybe. Almost waist length, it was an incredible pain at the best of times.

But she'd always worn it long. She had very few memories of her mom, but it seemed that each one involved her brushing Rain's hair.

It had been their nighttime routine, every single night from the day she was born with the same thick head of hair. Even when she'd turned twelve, and protested at the "babyish" activity, her mother had insisted.

And secretly, Rain hadn't really minded. She hardly saw her mom anymore towards the end, with her frequent boyfriends stampeding through the house.

A knock on the door made her jump and she turned to look at it, her eyes narrowing. "_What,_ J.D?"

"We're packing up weaponry now," his muffled voice resounded through the door. "If you're interested."

She laughed. "Wait, I'll be out in a minute." Dropping the towel, she pulled her robe on instead, draping another towel around her shoulders.

Opening the door, she was surprised to see the amount of chaos going on around her.

The bed was filled with all sorts of weaponry, from machine guns to tear gas, and as she stared openmouthed at the pile J.D sauntered in, carrying another pile. "Don't just stand there, Rain, go get the rest of them."

True to form, she ignored him, moving forward instead to grab one of the pineapple grenades off the bed. "This thing live?"

Grinning, he nodded at her. "All this shit works, Rain. Why else would Umbrella have it in here?"

He left again and when he returned, it was with a rocket launcher hoisted over each shoulder. Rain was impressed despite herself. "They have fucking _rocket_ launchers?"

J.D snickered at the shocked look on her face, handing one off to her and dumping the other on the bed before leaving the room again. This time, she followed—

And was met with more chaos as she wandered into the storage room. The perfectly stocked shelves had been emptied, different weapons, lights, provisions, all of it scattered over the ground.

The safe at the back of the room was open, and J.D walked in, Rain following behind.

Wandering inside, she was surprised to realize exactly how right J.D had been. Weapons of all shapes and sizes, each with their different uses, had obviously been stocked in the room- now, however, it was mostly empty.

Make that completely, as J.D scooped up a couple of remaining rifles and handed her a couple pistols and another grenade.

They trotted back to the bedroom, dumping their piles on the bed, and then stood there surveying the mass of weapons with some sort of satisfaction. J.D's, Rain supposed, was slightly more heartfelt. After all, he'd been the one to carry most of them in.

Finally she turned to look at him, commenting, "I say we just bring five rocket launchers. Anything comes near us- we blow their fucking heads off."

He rolled his eyes. "Great Rain, you can carry them," he tossed at her before leaning forward, beginning to shift the weapons into categories. "How many fucking weapons does Umbrella have, anyway?"

Rain laughed, and he glared at her, no particular malice in the expression. It was, after all, J.D.

They were still goofing around two hours later, leaning back against the bed and joking around, inspecting the weapons curiously without making any real attempt to organize or choose any for their trip. Their adventure, as someone might call it. Or their trip into hell. All depended on one's prerogative, really.

They were in the same spot when Matt walked into the room, hoisting two knapsacks. Catching sight of them, he rolled his eyes. "You two look like you've been working hard," he observed dryly.

Rain grinned at him. "What's left to do? Just pick some weapons, man."

And exasperated smile crossed Matt's face, making Rain only grin more. It was nice to have their normal, usually good natured Matt around again instead of the violent, cranky version they'd been stuck with for the last few weeks.

Alice came in, hoisting the last two knapsacks, which she dumped into a heap by the other two. A slight look of disapproval crossing her face, she asked, "What are you two doing?"

Rain gave her the same grin she'd given Matt. "We're working."

A small smile crossed Alice's face. "How, exactly?"

"We brought in all the weapons," J.D offered.

"And we might test them," Rain added. "We're not sure yet though."

Alice rolled her eyes, the same exasperated grin spreading over her face. "Whatever."

"What's in the bags?" J.D asked, gesturing towards them.

"Basic stuff," Alice answered simply. "Sleeping bags, provisions. And extra ammunition, for whenever you and Rain actually start loading up weapons."

He nodded. "Where's Michael?"

"He's packing his own bag," she said softly. "With the anti-virus, medical files, things like that."

Rain noticed Matt's flush at the mention of the anti-virus, and felt a sudden pang of guilt. Her and J.D should have been working, not just goofing off. This wasn't just some stupid mission- Matt's life was on the line.

She slid off the edge of the bed and began to finish the job J.D had started, moving each weapon into it's individual category. If anyone was surprised, they didn't show it; Matt and Alice both left to check on Michael's progress, and J.D simply began to sort the weapons as well.

He didn't ask her why she'd gotten quiet, serious, in such a short amount of time. He didn't have to.

Instead he just stood by and helped her.

y

The screen narrowed, the colors tinting green as it zoomed into the tiny house on 97th avenue, set right in the middle of Raccoon City.

He pressed the enter key, watching as the screen filled with the interior of the ramshackled house. The windows had been shattered, doors broken in, blood splashed over the house and zombies wandered it freely, in blind search of their next meal.

But in all the zombies, there was no sign of who he was looking for.

He pressed the enter key again, waiting for the small box to pop up onscreen.

_Enter Where?_

He typed in "basement".

Instantly the computer screen darkened and he squinted, trying to make out the room in the dim light.

An overstuffed couch slowly surfaced, followed by a high set of shelves and wooden desk—

And then she appeared, huddled between the couch and coffee table. Zooming in, he received a close up of Lea's teary face, of her full black curls and bright blue eyes. _His_ bright blue eyes.

Taking in her chalky white face and obvious fear, he felt a pang of emotion and reached out, tracing the image gently with one finger.

He had no idea where her mother was. He didn't care, either. Her mother was a whore and a bitch, and if he had the choice again, she would never have given birth to his daughter.

But she had, and even though he hated the bitch, he loved his daughter.

Lea was adorable, almost five already. She was brilliant, too, judging by the "creations" she often sent him- writings and drawings well above her grade level.

He was jerked out of his thoughts as the phone rang, and he stared at it coldly before picking up the receiver- and slamming it back down again.

It was probably just Alderic again. He had no idea how she'd managed to last this long in the Hive, but he didn't care. What he did care about was the fact that she was making his life hell with her whiny, childish phone calls.

Movement on the screen attracted his attention again and he returned to it, watching as Lea got up briefly to grab her blanket- the plushy purple one he'd sent for her last birthday- before lying down with it on the couch. Looking closely, he realized that she was talking to herself, a babyish smile crossing her face, and felt a surge of affection.

He was willing to do almost anything to get her out of Raccoon city. All he needed was a few loyal employees to help get her out of the house and then helicopter her out of the city to his hotel. From then on, all he'd have to do was send her to his sister in L.A., and she'd be fine.

They didn't even have to be loyal employees, per say. Just ones that could be disposed of quickly should the circumstances demand it.

Like the ones who had blabbed- or tried to, at least- to Crawford about his plans concerning his daughter last month. Vincent was a smart man, he hadn't believed a word of it- at least, he hadn't seemed to.

Either way, it didn't matter anymore, because that team was currently dead. Murdered. Sent to their deaths in the Hive, or taken out surreptitiously in the middle of the night.

After all, he couldn't have employees who didn't know the meaning of secret security, could he?

Because if it came down to Lea or the position he held in Umbrella- and, of course, all the privileges which came with it- it was an easy choice to make. And unfortunately, the verdict didn't include Lea.

Hopefully it didn't come down to that choice. And if it did- well, he was a businessman, and a wealthy one at that. He could have other children.

He jumped as a knock resounded on the heavy door serving as the entrance to the hotel room. Exiting the program, wiping Lea's face from the screen, he pulled out the disk and threw it underneath the bed, too rushed to bother with it's usual hiding place.

Crossing the room in three quick strides, he glanced through the peephole- and cursed when he saw who was standing there.

James Anderson. Quite possibly the most worthless employee Umbrella had ever taken. The moron couldn't even tie his own goddamn shoes without help, much less be trusted with the relatively simple task of surveillance of the Spencer mansion.

Not that much had happened there anyways. With, of course, the exception of their interlude with Hades. _That_ had been amusing, to say the least, their expressions as they attempted to put in the codes.

It was unfortunate that Hades hadn't managed to take out more of them before they got back into the safe house. But at least he'd managed to get Chad Kaplan, who, he thought, had always been of the whiny sort anyways.

He wondered absentmindedly if they'd found out about Addison's mutation yet. He doubted it. They were like trained monkeys, those six. They probably wouldn't find out until Nemesis managed to kill a few of them.

Unlocking the chain, he opened the door to come face to face with Anderson. Flicking his eyes over the young employee, he noticed with disdain his sweaty face and rumpled clothing- had he run all the way here?

Anderson flushed even more under his gaze, if that were possible. "Archangelo-" he gasped. "Sir. They've left the safe house. I tried to call, but—"

William cut him off. "When?" he demanded.

Anderson swallowed. "Just a few minutes ago, Sir." He promised. "The limo's waiting outside."

He nodded curtly. Grabbing his coat off the hanger where it hung he began striding down the hall, letting the door close behind him as Anderson hurried after him, practically tripping over his shoelaces.

So the little hamsters had left the cage. That was interesting, to say the least.

Maybe they'd found out about the mutation after all.

Luckily for Anderson, by the time the limo had reached the mansion Umbrella had bought for surveillance purposes, the hamsters had barely left the safe house.

William sat in the leather computer chair, watching the video screen intently while Anderson rushed around, babbling incoherently and fixing him a glass of brandy. The computer screen was state of the art, creating an image the size of a massive widescreen television image on the blank wall behind it.

The Umbrella S.W.A.T. team wandered through the rooms, each carrying an assortment of weapons and a knapsack on their backs. Curious. He wondered if they were leaving the mansion.

That would be both a blessing and a curse. Out of the mansion, he wouldn't be able to watch them anymore- but then, out of the mansion, their deaths would be so much more imminent.

They were all behaving like good hamsters, in a straight line, each carrying their guns at the ready as if something was going to attack them from around the corner.

Nothing would, of course. He'd demanded the mutations be closed off in another wing of the mansion. It'd been necessary, of course, to install the surveillance systems inside.

Technically, he should probably be releasing the bounty of zombies and other monsters from their cages right now. But all logic aside, he was simply too interested in the hamsters' mission of choice to bother for the time being.

The next room they crossed into was the dining room, the one housing the entrance to the Hive, and he watched with interest, curious despite himself. Perhaps they were entering the Hive? Surely not. Even the hamsters weren't so stupid.

But they'd proved his smallest assumptions of their intelligence wrong when they ventured out of the safe house the first time, and they did it again as the lead hamster- Parks- stepped forward and opened the hatch, typing in the code.

"Sir!"

It was Anderson, standing directly beside him, practically breathing down his neck, and he growled out an irritated "What?"

"They're entering the Hive! Should I reconstruct the database?"

William paused, gazing thoughtfully at the screen as Addison stepped forward and tried another code. The control box was secure, yes- but sooner or later, they were going to get in. None of them had really bothered creating a decent lock for the entrance to the Hive- who the hell was stupid enough to go in there?

Apparently their little hamsters. And even though his logic demanded he let them enter the Hive- after all, it'd be a quick and easy death and he had the entire system under surveillance as well- his reason told him that, by their sheer determination to enter the Hive, it probably wasn't for reasons helpful to Umbrella.

And anyway, how entertaining would it be if they simply walked into the Hive after three weeks of no combat? Not in the least.

Instead William dragged the mouse over to the keypad on the side, typing in an instruction.

And watched as the cage door opened slowly. Arch- named for him- crawled out slowly, leathery wings beating against his sides, spits of fire flaming from his nostrils.

He screamed.

William smiled.

That ought to slow them down a bit.

y

The third code hadn't worked, and neither had the fourth.

It was the fifth code- the ever cliché "Umbrella"- that finally unlocked the doors. The panel lit up, the open switch blinking red.

Matt held his hand over it, ready to press it open—

And then suddenly hesitated. The guilt and worry still tore at him as he thought about the very real possibilities of any of them being left behind, injured- dying.

He knew that they had to go in despite the risks. He knew that no matter what he argued, none of them would abandon this mission.

To save _him._

Because he also knew that though five people were entering the Hive, not all five would be exiting it.

And he also knew that their deaths would be on his shoulders, his own guilt to bear.

"Matt?" Alice asked softly.

He turned to look at her, still paused over the button. Her blue eyes were dark with worry- but the same light, the same vestige of hope still shone behind them.

Alice always had that look of hope, even in the darkest of situations. Some people would call it naïve, Matt knew- but to him, it was only reassuring.

He wasn't sure what to say to her- what _could_ he say to her?- so he turned around and punched the button—

Just as the scream echoed through the room.

Matt turned to look at Alice, at Rain, at everyone standing assembled on the platform before the doorway. They stared back at him, the same resolved and yet nervous expressions on their faces as the door's machinery whirred, the door opening ever so slowly as they crowded forward, wanting to be out of the room before whatever had screamed could find them.

The doors finally pulled to a stop, giving way to inky blackness. Matt took a hesitating look inside—

And then heard it, the dry, heavy breathing—

And flew back as the doorway, the wall surrounding it, exploded inwards and the source of the scream came tearing out.

Those who weren't already on the floor threw themselves to the ground as it flew over them, it's huge black wings touching either side of the wall.

It turned as it reached the end of the room, letting out another scream, and Matt suddenly realized what it was—

A dragon. An actual _dragon_, a nightmare from fairy tales and storybooks, with it's scaly black skin, huge, leathery wings, and beaded red eyes.

But unlike fairy tale dragons, who were generally harmless, even somewhat cute looking occasionally, this dragon's wings ended in foot long barbs, it's tail surrounded by lethal looking spikes stained in human blood.

Looking on at their faces, it seemed to smile—

And then it opened it's mouth, taking in a huge breath, smoke curling from it's nostrils and Matt was moving, shouting at the others to run, pulling Alice up and shoving the others ahead of them as he ran for the open doorway—

And he felt his back sear as the dragon roared again, flames spitting from it's open mouth.

They didn't run, but rather tumbled down the stairs, Alice racing for the keypad to close the steel door separating the train station from the mansion.

Matt watched from his vantage point by the stairs as she disappeared into the blackness and then crawled forward, keeping his hands out in front of him, his artillery dropped on the stairs.

He could only hear the others as they moved out of the stairway as well, was unable to see them in the darkness and then, the silence suddenly deafening to him, wondered where the dragon was.

Listening closely, he could hear the leathery beat of wings flapping—

And then fire filled the air over his head and he was able to see the others, Rain right next to him, covering her head with her arms, J.D and Michael further to the right, Alice slamming her hand down on the panel, shielding her face with her hands—

And the station faded into blackness again as the door slammed shut, shutting the dragon inside the stairway.

Another moment and the lights blinked on, illuminating the crowded train station.

Looking around him, Matt was relieved to see no other dragons, zombies, or any other monsters and clambered to his feet. He reached a hand down to Rain, which she took, and pulled her to her feet as he stared at the steel door.

He could hear the dragon slamming into it and looked at Alice, who stared at the door as well, a grim expression on her face.

"Is everyone okay?"

It was Michael, looking shaken as he climbed to his feet.

Alice nodded, staring at the door still as it began to dent. "That door isn't going to hold," she said grimly. "Does anyone know how to work the train?"

J.D held up a hand, and Alice nodded at him. "Start it up." He left, Rain following, both holding their guns at the ready.

Looking around, Matt realized Alice and even Michael still held their guns as well and pulled his knapsack off, unzipping it and rummaging through it for another handgun.

His hands closed around one and he lifted it out, zipping the bag closed—

And realized that the room was silent.

Michael and Alice seemed to realize the same thing, staring at the door—

Which was bubbling, the steel sliding off in messy clumps.

Matt stared at Alice. "We have to go."

Unfortunately, that moment was met with a shouted curse from J.D and the three of them turned and ran, skittering into the platform by the train tunnel.

The first thing Matt noticed as he saw J.D was the expression of utter shock written across his face.

Seeing them arrive, he turned. "The train's gone," he said grimly, "Umbrella must have taken it inside."

"We're trapped."

The steel door exploded off it's hinges.


	3. Chapter Three: Infiltration

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing 

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or its characters.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as their explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: A thousand thanks to rain1657, Gabzilla, Faded Writer, Jesse Burnside, Enchanted Dreamer1, and Me an RE Fan for your reviews! 

"Y" is again for spaces.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Three: Infiltration

The five of them were running before the dragon even entered the room, splitting up into different directions and racing for the cover of the boxes.

Rain could hear the dragon stomping through the station ahead of her as she hurried behind a tall row of steel boxes, keeping her gun in front of her, ears strained for the sound of the dragon—

And threw herself to the ground as the dragon screamed and the boxes she was crouched behind became a massive wall of flames.

She crawled forward, trying to get out of the way before it could see her, and realized with a sudden thud of exasperation that the dragon could probably either hear or smell all of them anyways, so the game of fucking hide and seek they were playing was pretty much pointless.

Clambering to her feet, she ran for the end of the boxes—

And swerved out of the way, ducking around the corner to avoid the dragon as it leapt around the corner, landing gracefully in front of her.

She would have crashed into J.D, standing on the other side of the metal canister, if he hadn't dodged out of the way and caught her shoulders to stop her from falling. He smirked at her, and Rain glared at him, infuriated as his smirk became a mocking grin—

And then they were both running in opposite directions as the dragon flew around the corner, screaming.

It chose to chase her, for some unfathomable reason, and as Rain ran, her heart pounding in her chest, her breaths coming in short gasps, she realized she wouldn't be able to outrun it for much longer.

She could feel it gaining on her now, could feel it breathing down her neck, as she rounded another corner—

And stopped short before she crashed into the wall. Reacting instantly, she threw herself aside as the dragon roared, letting loose a torrent of flames which destroyed the wall inches from where her head had been moments earlier, the concrete sliding off in burned clumps as she watched, stunned.

It turned to look at her then, it's red eyes twinkling maliciously, and opened it's mouth hungrily, bounding forward to meet her.

She remembered then the sub-machine gun she still clutched in her hands. Flicking the safety off she turned to face the dragon, still crouched on the ground, and squeezed the trigger.

The dragon reared back, screaming in fury as the bullets pounded into it, and then ran for her, any semblance of harmlessness gone. Rain let go of the trigger and stumbled to her feet, looking to make a run for it—

Which, she realized, with a sickening thud of disbelief, was utterly impossible. A mess of metal and fire blocked her path to the left, and her only other option- straight in front of her- was blocked.

She braced herself as the dragon ran for her, seeking a way past it—

And then the metal canisters beside them exploded and Rain could feel herself flying over them, soaring through the air before coming to a painful landing a hundred meters away.

A sickening thud was the only indication she'd landed besides the blinding pain and Rain winced, rolling to her stomach and crawling to her feet slowly.

She was barely aware of Matt as he ran to her, lifting her and pulling her out of the way, ignoring her shout of pained protest as the dragon came stumbling around the corner.

It looked much worse for wear- escape from the explosion had obviously been impossible for it. Black holes seared the stretchy skin covering it's right wing, rendering it utterly incapable, and it's body was covered in burnt patches and glistening skin.

Rain only pondered the source of the fluid covering the monster for a moment before the smell hit her nose and she grimaced.

Gasoline.

Matt grabbed her around the stomach, yanking her to her feet, shouting in her ear, "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine," she shouted back at him, trying to be heard above the dragon's screams of fury. Her back, her entire _body_ still ached, but it was nothing that wouldn't mend in a few minutes time. Nothing was broken, anyway.

She heard the dragon shambling around the corner, braced herself to run—

And then Michael tore past them, rounding the corner as the dragon, catching sight of him, began to bound after him.

Running straight for the row of canisters lining the back wall.

The canisters marked, "Caution: Extremely Flammable".

Injured as it was, Michael was able to beat the dragon to the end of the corridor, turning the corner and running off the other way as the dragon, unable to stop, smashed into the wall.

It's claws, outstretched in a vain attempt to skid to a halt, embedded themselves in the tanks, a fine spray of whatever was inside splashing out as it tried, in vain, to extract itself from the metal prison—

And then Alice stepped out from behind the next row of metal boxes, pulling the pin on the grenade she held and launching it at the chaotic scene.

She turned to run as the dragon let out another shout of fury, as if aware of it's impending fate—

And then the world exploded.

Rain threw herself to the ground, Matt following suit, as the station was filled with flames and black smoke, the incandescent heat washing over them. The noise was deafening, and Rain wondered if the rest of them had been able to get out of the way in time.

The thoughts were shoved from her head as the rumbling died down and the dragon began to scream.

Rain crawled to her knees, risking a glance around the corner.

The dragon was a literal fireball now, a mess of bubbling black skin and glowing flames as it twisted in obvious pain, shrieking and screaming and beating it's wings uselessly against the wall as it tried to free itself.

With one last tug, it managed to rip open the canister, pulling it's claws free—

And then screamed in pain again as the liquid washed over him, fueling the flames.

Rain turned away, feeling sick, seeing the same expression echoed on Matt's face. His hands were over his ears, obviously trying to block out the sound—

Which had begun to change, it's bestial wails changing tone, sounding almost—

_Human._

Rain turned towards it again, unable to help it—

And realized, with shock, that it was no longer a dragon burning, but a human being.

She could hear Alice shouting for someone to put the fire out as she ran towards it, could see J.D and Michael both running forward to join her. Matt tore past her as well, and Rain clambered to her feet and followed.

J.D had pulled the sleeping bag from his bag and thrown it over the person as he continued to twitch in pain, the screams dying from his lips.

Two minutes seemed an eternity as J.D continued to stomp out the fire before yanking the sleeping bag away and staring down at the dragon-turned-man.

For him, salvation had come to late. He was charred black already, his clothes burned off, his body a crispy black The skin had melted off his face, and he stared up at them, empty sockets and incinerated mouth grinning grotesquely.

The only thing that had remained undamaged was the Umbrella badge which lay beside him.

Rain looked away.

Michael threw up behind her, and she could hear J.D drop the sleeping bag by the body, knowing the horrified look she wore must have been echoed on his face.

Looking up, she saw Alice staring, frozen in horror as she stared down at the body.

"How could they do this?" she asked, her voice ragged. "How could Umbrella—"

She broke off, and Matt was at her side in an instant, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her away from the scene.

The flames were sputtering out now, their source diminished, the floor under them burned black.

In the ceiling, a light burned out and exploded.

y

They had been walking in silence for over an hour now.

Michael walked in the middle of their group, Rain and J.D behind him, Matt and Alice ahead. All five were quiet, utterly emotionless, as if determined not to mention the events that had just occurred.

The only sound made, as they walked through the deserted subway tunnel, was their footsteps over the rocky ground.

The tunnel was dark, and as a result, both Alice and Rain walked with flashlights, Alice shining hers straight ahead while Rain's bobbed over the station as she toyed with it, obviously bored.

Matt and J.D both carried assault rifles, and Rain's machine gun had been handed, somewhat reluctantly, over to him. He was grateful for it's security, though he wasn't sure exactly how well he'd be able to use it- he'd never shot anything other than a pistol or a rifle.

Still, it felt good that they trusted him with it, trusted his ability to defend them. Thankfully, he hadn't had to yet. Oddly enough, nothing had either caught up to them or met up with them in the dark tunnels yet- Matt had predicted, rather darkly, that whatever Umbrella had to throw at them was probably inside the Hive.

None of them believed the dragon's impeccable timing had anything to do with coincidence, and now Michael couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

Rain, to the surprise of no one, was the first to finally break the silence.

"Are we there yet?"

He heard J.D snort behind him. "Yes, Rain, that's why we're still walking."

By the wild swipe of her flashlight, Michael could only predict that she had attempted to use it as a weapon against J.D. He could hear them both snickering, and smiled despite himself, grateful for their presence.

J.D and Rain could both be irritating, true, but they were probably the only two people ever capable of breaking the moody silence that sometimes threatened to consume him- and not just him, but the whole group as a whole.

Rain's sigh broke his train of thought, and he looked over his shoulder as she spoke again. "Seriously, though, how much longer do we have to walk?"

Alice turned back, a small smile on her face. "What's wrong, Rain, tired?"

Her teasing question was met by a snort from Rain as she answered, somewhat defensively, "No. This is fucking boring though."

Alice laughed, then stopped suddenly as Matt said edgily, "Would you guys please keep it down?"

Watching closely, Michael saw Matt's shoulders loosen slightly as Alice edged forward, reaching for and grabbing his hand in reassurance.

He wondered briefly if Matt was suffering from the same side effects as earlier, and dismissed the thought as quickly as it'd come. He couldn't be. The virus's effects were strengthening every day, he knew that- but it'd taken them three weeks to manifest the first time, and while it was regular for the time needed to lessen gradually, there was no way the change in time could be this drastic.

Matt was probably just tired, and edgy.

They continued walking on in silence.

It took another hour to reach the entrance to the Hive.

As the five of them wandered in slowly, warily, Michael stared up in awe at the train station above them.

It was huge, at least three times as big as the embarking one had been, and filled with a somehow menacingly sterile atmosphere.

J.D was the first to clamber onto the level floor, the others following suit as they pulled themselves out of the tunnel.

Michael reached up, gripping the first surface he grasped, and pulled himself up as well, noting, with some disgust, the stickiness of the apparently clean floor as he did—

The source of which became sickeningly clear to him as he crawled onto the floor.

It was blood, splashed over the linoleum floor as if someone- or _something-_ bleeding had slithered across it, ending in a dark splatter near the tunnel.

Michael shoved himself to his feet and hurriedly backed away from it.

"Spence," Alice said curtly, looking down at the stain. "That was..."

She turned abruptly, her words trailing off. "Let's go." She took off at a quick pace down the maze between plastic and steel dividers and columns, and Michael hurried to follow, pulling another weapon out of his knapsack as he did- Rain had already reclaimed her machine gun.

After a few twists and turns, they reached a staircase.

It was huge, easily three times the size of a regular staircase, and would have been beautiful had the whole thing not been made of a mix of stone and concrete.

They all raced up the stairs, a couple flights of them, ending in a small chamber of walls and flooring in the same concrete. Lights flickered dimly in the ceiling as Alice pulled a switch next to the top of the staircase.

What had once been an obviously heavy steel door had been torn open, giving way to a yawning hole of blackness.

They'd reached the Hive.

y

Alice had managed to find a way to restart the lighting, so even though they had no idea where they were going, at least they weren't wandering around in darkness anymore. In the Hive, darkness could be not only distressing but, eventually, fatal.

It didn't help that even with the light, Umbrella's monsters could probably see better than they could.

The video cameras blinked as they walked past them and Matt realized, with start of exasperation, that they were still working. He supposed he should have expected it, but after Alice's destruction of the computer monitor last time, he'd figured they probably would be on hiatus still.

Umbrella had probably fixed them.

And Umbrella was probably watching them too.

Rain, walking next to him, seemed to catch his expression as he stared at the cameras passing them by.

"Do you think they're watching us?" she asked casually, staring up at them.

He shrugged. "Probably," he admitted.

She grinned at him, and then, lifting both hands to the camera, made a rude gesture. Matt rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but laugh as J.D followed suit, both of them waving sardonically at the camera as they passed by.

"Good job down there," she added, glancing at him. "With the grenade and shit. Did you guys plan that?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Mostly Alice." He could feel himself blush as he said her name, and waited patiently for the teasing comments from Rain he knew he'd be forced to endure until the end of time. But Rain was concerned with other things.

"So how come I didn't know?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "It sort of occurred to us as we were running," he admitted. "And we figured the dragon would eventually corner someone, so..."

Rain nodded in response, then stopped as she suddenly realized what he meant by the statement. "I was _bait_?" She asked incredulously. "_Me_?"

Matt couldn't stop the grin that spread over his face at her obvious distaste with the word. "In a manner of speaking, yeah."

"You guys made me the _bait_?" she echoed dumbly.

Behind them, Matt heard J.D laugh. "You deaf or something, Rain? You've said that like five times already."

Rain shook her head in response. "I can't believe you guys made me the bait," she complained, turning to glare at J.D—

And then a scream filled the corridor.

All three of them automatically glanced towards Alice and Michael, who led the group. They stared back at them, the confusion echoed on their faces—

And the source of the scream declared itself as the woman ran around the corner, stumbling forward to meet them, her face panicked.

"Thank God you guys are here," she sobbed. "These things, they're chasing me—"

And shrieked, ducking behind J.D as they slunk into the corridor.

Two black panthers, one absolutely massive, the other only slightly smaller, both with their faces torn open to reveal surgically enhanced rows of needle sharp teeth and forked green tongues.

Matt couldn't help but feel a surge of relief looking at the two.

After the dragon they'd just faced, this was nothing.

He stepped up next to Alice, feeling Rain and Michael fall into place on either side of them, taking aim as the first panther leapt—

And was bulleted by gunfire as all four of them fired simultaneously, Rain's machine gun doing the most damage, tearing off an ear, an eyeball exploding in it's skull.

It was dead before it fell to the ground inches in front of them, dead nearly before it had even leapt for them.

They raised their eyes to the second panther as it stared at them, almost lazily, it's tail swishing from side to side. It's eyes seemed to contemplate the situation for a moment, and then, as if a decision had been made, it turned abruptly and ambled back where it had came from.

Rain lifted her gun as if to fire again, but Alice turned to her, shaking her head. "No," she said quietly, "It's leaving."

"It might come back," Rain countered. "When we're not so well prepared."

Alice shrugged. "Umbrella has much worse than that," she pointed out. "Why waste our ammunition?"

Rain, for once, had no arguments for the statement, and lowered her gun as the panther slinked out of sight. "I'll guard."

Matt rolled his eyes, smiling despite himself at Rain's stubborn nature as he loosened his grip on his gun, holding it by his side as he hurried over to where J.D sat with the obviously distraught woman.

Reaching them, Alice asked quietly, "Are you hurt?"

The woman shook her head. "No," she said shakily. "I'm sorry I- panicked."

Matt nodded. "It's understandable," he said softly.

"Why are you here?" J.D asked bluntly.

Alice looked at him reproachfully, but as the woman shifted, the badge on her dirty lab coat caught the light, revealing the cause for J.D's hostility.

"You're from Umbrella," Matt commented. "Aren't you?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'm Olivia Alderic." Her voice was hesitant as she spoke, looking around at them as if she expected them to defy her statement. "I- me and my team were sent down here. To find out what happened with the Hive- we were sent here by my employer, William Archangelo."

Alice phrased the next question simply, her voice soft. "What happened?"

Olivia answered the question with a bitter laugh. "We found out these... _monsters_ had gotten loose, and Archangelo locked us down here to prevent them from escaping. We got trapped inside one of the rooms, and I managed to escape." She shrugged, looking down at her hands as she added quietly, "I think I'm the only survivor."

J.D snorted, and she glared at him, her expression identical to Alice's. "What?"

"It's your creations that killed them," he pointed out. "You know that, don't you?"

Matt looked at her, curious despite himself to what her answer would be.

"Yes," she said simply. "Of course. Umbrella-" she hesitated. "I always justified what we were doing," she said softly. "I thought that, in the end, it would better humanity- but I've realized since that Archangelo doesn't give a damn about the human race."

Alice nodded, looking satisfied with the answer, and though J.D raised an eyebrow, he too seemed to accept her statement.

"Why are you here?" Olivia asked. "Did Umbrella send you?"

Alice hesitated, glancing at Matt; then, seemingly deciding what she wanted to say was safe, she said, "We're looking for—"

"Survivors," Rain interrupted. They all turned to look at her, Matt taking in the shrewd look on her face as he did.

"Survivors?" Olivia echoed, disbelief written over her face.

Rain smiled, undaunted. "Guess it's your lucky day."

J.D turned to look at her then, and a look passed between the two, a look of distrust Matt couldn't completely shake himself.

Olivia turned to Alice, as if looking for verification. Alice just smiled at her and said, "You'd better stick with us."

Glancing around the group, Matt took in the opinions written over their faces. Both Michael and Alice seemed wary, but convinced she was pretty much harmless- whereas J.D and Rain watched her as if expecting her to attack at any given moment.

And, as Matt pulled a pistol out of his bag, handing it to Olivia for self-defense purposes, he couldn't help but wonder if J.D and Rain might be right.

y

William Archangelo was not having a good day.

True, good days were rare in his business. No matter how well business was, there was always some incident waiting just around the corner to fuck up his day.

But this- this was unbelievable. Not only had they dispatched his dragon, his pride and joy, in under ten minutes, but so far all five of them had managed to avoid death or even injury of some sort.

Anderson had been sent out of the room ages ago for William's own personal sanity, but he found himself missing his presence now. He needed an outlet for his anger, and a shot of vodka wouldn't have hurt either.

Instead he stared at the monitor, his hands clenched into fists, distaste written over his face as he watched the second panther, the one he'd hand-picked to guard the Hive, slink away from the hamsters.

They all crowded around Alderic then, listening to the pathetic medic's sob story with understanding faces as William snorted in distaste. Damn that women. He should have dispatched her as he'd done the others; quick, simple deaths in the halon-pumped elevators.

Instead he'd left her, figuring on her eventual demise, and now she'd met up with his bloody nemesis. The thorn in his side, the nagging idiots that had been foremost on his mind ever since the first incident back in October.

Well, perhaps the hamsters would decide to take the elevator.

But, then, William couldn't count on that. Despite their lacking mental tendencies, even the hamsters weren't that stupidly reckless.

He supposed he'd just have to wait for one of his other creations to find them—

Or perhaps wait for them to wander into the room he had created specifically for observation purposes. The room with no less than six locks, steel doors and walls, virtually no way out- with a grand array of over ten cameras so he could watch their satisfyingly slow deaths with absolutely no complications.

But the room was far down below the Hive, nearly on it's bottom level, and almost impossible to access unless one knew particularly the right path to take to it.

But, then- Alderic knew the way there, didn't she? All Umbrella's employees knew.

William smiled, gazing at the screen.

Maybe this could work to his advantage after all.


	4. Chapter Four: Eight Days

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or its characters.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as their explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Again, a thousand thanks to all those who have reviewed and commented upon "Into the Light" thus far! Particularly for chapter three: Faded Writer, Gabzilla, and rain1675.

Also… my number of reviews has been dwindling lately (only three this chapter!) and so I'd just like to take this opportunity first to beg for reviews- I have no shame- and also just to mention that if there's anything disagreeable about the fanfic, _please_ tell me, constructive criticism is _always_ welcome!

And sorry for the lateness in the update this week. Fanfiction. net was being cruel and I had a few problems with it.

Also, my general use of "y" for spaces is not working, so you're all stuck with the incredibly undignified "space" this chapter... sorry :)

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Four: Eight Days

The ex-Umbrella S.W.A.T. team had managed, after a half hour of searching, to find a small room off the main corridors which was both windowless and equipped with a locking door. And as the blond girl, the taller of the two in the group, introduced everyone, Olivia realized with a pang how good it felt to hear people speaking again.

Even if they didn't particularly trust her.

Because no matter how nice the blond- Alice- was, she could already tell she trusted her almost as much as the other girl- which was to say, not very much at all.

"So what did you do?"

Olivia turned to look at the speaker- Matt- who stared back at her, a perfectly blank look on his face. He was obviously trying not to pass any early judgment.

Olivia cleared her throat, trying to find a way to phrase her common Umbrella activity- the creation of viruses. Particularly the development of the T-virus, which, as she could guess, the team hadn't exactly been happy about.

Deciding just to say it- they wouldn't be happy to hear it either way- Olivia stated simply, "I worked on the creation of viruses, studied their effects on the ecosystem or biological systems, things like that."

"What about the T-virus?" Matt again, staring at her with that uncommonly perceptive look in his eyes.

Olivia hesitated. "I wasn't involved directly, but I have been studying it for a few months now. Umbrella demanded it, after the Raccoon Incident- especially the study of a few newly advanced anti-viruses."

Expecting an angry, even hostile, reaction to this bit of news, she was surprised at the reactions of the group. Alice and Matt glanced at each other imperceptibly; Michael, the resident computer nerd as far as she could tell, glanced up from his knapsack; and even the other girl and the guy- R.D?- glanced up from the back, where they'd been involved in an apparently exclusive discussion.

Her curiosity piqued despite herself, Olivia started to comment on their reaction, but was cut off by Alice. "What strains of the anti-virus did you work with?"

Her eyes were bright, almost feverish with emotion Olivia couldn't place. Almost hopeful, in a way; but why?

"A few," Olivia told her, being purposefully vague. "The one they're working on right now was made to correct a mutation brought about by injection of one of Umbrella's mutations into a living human system—"

"The Licker," Alice interrupted her. "Right?"

Olivia nodded, unsurprised despite herself. They obviously had a few secrets of their own.

"Has it been tested?" Michael this time, staring at her with a calm, shrewd expression. She nodded.

"It was tested on a man a month or so ago- it worked completely, as far as we know. They were forced to leave him by the road after another mutation attack."

"Who was it?"

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know. A citizen of Raccoon- they just called him "Experiment A"."

Alice turned to Matt then, whispering something to him- Olivia strained her ears, trying to listen in without appearing obvious, and heard the word, "Kahpan". She wasn't quick enough in disguising her confusion, however, and R.D sent her a sharp glance before asking abruptly, "Where'd they keep the virus?"

Olivia shrugged again. "I don't know," she said honestly. "It was kept at the labs, obviously, but it could be anywhere."

A look shared in the group triggered another flash of suspicion, and she asked, narrowing her eyes, "Why all the questions?"

She knew instantly that it was the wrong question to ask. A stony look passed over Matt's face, and Alice answered, her voice biting, "No reason."

Understanding that she was steadily aggravating the only two possible allies she might have in the group, Olivia couldn't help but press the issue, asking shortly, hoping to catch them off guard, "Who's infected?"

A look of protectiveness mingled with annoyance flashed over the other girl's face, and she snapped, "None of your goddamn business." R.D laughed, and Olivia was slightly heartened to see Alice cast the two an exasperated look. Alice was obviously the mother of the group.

And judging by their reactions to her questions, at least one of them was infected. And judging by the protective look on the girl's face, it was probably R.D- the two hadn't left each other's side since Olivia had first seen them.

She wondered idly if they were together. Matt and Alice obviously were.

Instead of asking, she glanced away from the group, putting her questions aside- for now. An awkward silence ensued, one which Matt finally broke, saying simply, "We'd better move out."

Alice nodded, and both clambered to their feet, the others following suit. Scrambling to her feet, Olivia asked shortly, "Where are we going?"

She didn't miss the exasperated look R.D and the girl shared, nor the distinctly irritated look in Alice's eyes as she told her simply, "If we stay in here, sooner or later one of Umbrella's mutants will catch up to us."

She turned to leave, and though Olivia tried to push the questions, the frustration at being left in the dark, aside, she couldn't help the words that escaped from her mouth next. "Look, if we're going to be working together, I think I should know if someone's infected—"

Alice turned to look back at her, the look in her eyes now reaching a cold glare. "What part of it's "none of your goddamn business" don't you understand?"

By the delighted grins on R.D and the girl's faces, as if Christmas had come two weeks early, Olivia understood instantly how out of character the comment was for Alice and flushed despite herself as Alice turned and left, Matt following closely behind. Alice had obviously been not only pissed off by, but somehow offended by the question- but despite a brief flash of shame, Olivia couldn't help but be angry at the way the group had been treating her. She had no fucking idea what was going on, and they didn't seem to care in the least.

She stood sullenly, knowing that she was acting like a child, but not caring, as she watched the others file out of the room. Last was R.D, who turned back to her, and, a mocking grin on his face, asked, "Are you coming?"

She just stared at him, no easy answers available. She had to go with them, that much was obvious- but the question was, did she want to?

R.D seemed to sense her rising frustration- a sudden flash of concern, and then of understanding, erupted in his eyes. Looking at her with a softened expression, he said quietly, "Come on," before disappearing through the doorway.

Realizing she might have an ally after all, Olivia followed.

Space.

"The virus escaped."

He stopped, cleared his throat imposingly as he scanned the room, taking in the stunned expressions of those present.

"They were able to add some sort of chemical to the virus, something that changed a relatively danger-free solution to a highly lethal one. Everyone in the Hive was killed, and when it was reopened, the virus spread to Raccoon City."

He paused, cleared his throat again for impact. "All it's inhabitants are dead."

A flurry of whispers and shocked expressions went through the room, and he waited a moment before continuing.

"Thankfully, we were able to contain the virus to Raccoon. All above-ground Umbrella employees were able to escape—"

_All the important ones, anyway—_

"And no surrounding areas were affected." He paused against o pull a stack of photos out of his briefcase, throwing them out on the table in front of his colleagues as he listed their names. "Alice Parks. Jacob Salinas. Rain Ocampo. Chad Kaplan. Matthew Addison. And Michael Cahill. The first four are part of a renegade S.W.A.T. team once working for Umbrella, the last two, civilians."

Another pause for effect. "The are the criminals responsible for the destruction of Raccoon and it's inhabitants. If any of them are found, I want them brought to me immediately."

"They are armed and dangerous. Do not hesitate to use force."

He nodded to Crawford to indicate he was finished speaking, then stepped back.

Glancing around the room as Crawford wrapped up the meeting, watching as expressions changed from ones of shock to anger as the hamsters photos were magnified on the wall, William Archangelo smiled.

Back-up plans were always a good thing. And now, in the unlikely event the "renegade S.W.A.T. team" ever escaped the Hive, they'd have the entire American police force to worry about.

Still smiling, William lifted his briefcase and stood. Coming face to face with Evan Rouhiainen, a man both disturbingly twitchy and somehow effeminate. Right now he stood wringing his hands together, gazing at him nervously until he barked "What!?"

Rouhiainen jumped, then said hurriedly, "Anderson told me you've requested a meeting, Sir."

"Same time, same place," William answered indifferently.

Rouhiainen nodded. "Yes. Sir. I just- had an idea. About your daughter."

William smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Well, isn't that nice," he said sarcastically. "Tell me at the meeting, not here, you imbecile."

Nodding, an embarrassed flush spreading across his face, Rouhiainen left. William watched him go, a small smile on his face, cheered despite his harsh words. Rouhiainen was a psycho, sure, but mentally, the man was brilliant. Hopefully, he had good news.

"Archangelo!" Turning quickly at the sound of his name, William was both pleased and slightly nervous to see Vincent Crawford bearing down on him. His superior looked benevolent, but with his cold eyes and frozen features, William had never seen the man actually smile.

"Nice speech," Crawford told him genially. Clapping a hand on his shoulder he continued, in a lower tone, "I didn't think you'd be able to handle the Raccoon City situation. You know how important this cover-up is to Umbrella's future, and quite frankly, I didn't think you would possibly be capable of doing a successful job on it. We took a big risk putting you in there." Straightening up again, he smiled an actual smile. "Luckily, you seem to have proven us wrong." With another clap on his shoulder, Crawford left, leaving William marveling at the way the man could pay someone a compliment and at the same time leave them feeling as if they'd just been subtly insulted. It was a skill William had attained to a lesser degree- but then, he supposed there was a reason Crawford had been named Head of Umbrella Corporation after all.

But insulting or not, Crawford had technically paid him a compliment. The board meeting could not have gone more smoothly, and the hamsters were, to put it simply, fucked. Even if his plans with Olivia- which he had yet to carry out- didn't work, they would still end up in his custody. All he had to do now was find a way to rescue his daughter- which, if Rouhiainen's news was anything worth hearing, had already been planned.

William smiled.

Things were looking very good.

Space

"Things aren't going very well, are they?" Olivia hissed in his ear.

Having been walking in silence for over thirty minutes, listening to Michael's off-key whistling and Rain's irritated comments regarding said whistling, J.D was understandably caught off guard.

Jumping in surprise, he turned to glare at Olivia. "Don't fucking do that!" he hissed in return.

Instead of meeting his comment with a raised eyebrow, as Alice would, or smirking in return, Rain's classic answer, Olivia actually blushed. "Sorry," she said quietly. "I just- it's hard not knowing what's going on."

J.D turned to look at her, a flippant comment on his lips- but looking at her hesitant expression, her wide blue eyes, he said instead, "Yeah, I know."

She turned her attention to the corridor ahead of her again, and he did likewise, shifting his assault rifle in his arms.

In a way, he was actually starting to not mind Olivia's presence. There'd been of course an immediate initial attraction when he'd first met her- and who could blame him? With her long brown curls, deep blue eyes, and close-fitting medical coat, she was the starring role in some teenager's greatest fucking fantasy. The only guy who hadn't looked twice at her was Matt, and Matt- well, Matt had Alice.

Irritation, however, quickly won over. J.D had known her for less than three hours, and he'd already realized she was the type of woman who insisted upon knowing everything and was annoying as hell when she didn't.

But with that realization brought empathy, as he recalled his own days back at the beginning, when he'd had no idea what was going on. When he'd woken up in a fucking hospital bed, sickly and shaking like a crackhead on detox, and been forced to run before the monster- Spence, he would guess now- could find him. The first few days, when he'd been faced with a world where half his team was dead, where Matthew Addison had somehow joined their team, where Rain was sickly and unconscious and no one would explain to him what the fuck was going on—

Needless to say, he could understand her reaction.

She was fumbling with the pistol Matt had given her now, and as he glanced over at her, a sudden burst of affection came out of nowhere, overwhelming the irritation. Without bothering to think it over, he asked, "Do you know how to use that?"

She looked up, surprised, and smiled. "Sort of."

He raised an eyebrow. "Sort of?" he repeated, a cocky grin spreading over his face.

She rolled her eyes, then relented. "I've never shot an automatic before. I don't know how good I'll be at it."

Softening slightly, he reached out to the gun she held. "If you just shift it this way—"

He guided her hands into position on either side of the grip—

"You'll shoot straighter," he finished.

"Thanks," she said softly, gazing up at him. He looked back at her, trying to decipher the look in her eyes—

Which was when the glass panels forming the corridor shattered. Before J.D could draw his gun, before he could even _move_, it was on him, and he could hear Rain and Matt shouting, Olivia screaming as he crashed into her, sending them both to the floor—

He was up immediately, jumping to his feet and scanning the room around them.

There was nothing there.

He glanced at the rest of the group. "What was that?" he asked, voice ragged.

They stared back at him, their expressions as confused as his, until Michael broke the silence. "We didn't see anything."

J.D stared. "Then what the fuck—"

"Shh," Alice craned her head, stepping forward lightly. "Can you hear that?"

J.D listened. At first all he could hear was the air whistling through the ventilation pipes, Olivia's nervous breathing, his own heart pounding—

Then he heard it, a quick flurry of tapping footsteps, combined with a dry, rasping breath—

And then he saw the mirrors ripple as something flashed across them and was hit by a sudden thud of realization.

"It can camouflage," he whispered, staring transfixed as the ripple passed by him—

And fell to ground, a bright shock of green as Alice bulleted it with gunfire. It rose to it's feet, a sinewy, lime-green monstrosity, and let a screaming wail of pain that split the mirrors around them and sent every person in the room to their knees, dropping their weapons in favor of covering their ears as the screaming pierced through them—

And then suddenly stopped, J.D coming out of his stunned reverie just in time to see the monster running for Olivia, who stood, dazed and confused, at the end of the corridor.

Without stopping to think, J.D clambered to his feet, and, leaving his weapon abandoned- bullets wouldn't stop the thing anyways- threw himself at Olivia, knocking her to the ground.

The monster smashed into him then, and they crashed through the mirrored wall, J.D rolling out of the way immediately, panting, the wind knocked out of him.

He heard voices calling his name, one high and obviously terrified, the other more demanding but with the same shot of worry as he climbed to his feet.

The monster had already risen, and turned to face J.D as he stood, watching it warily, wondering how the hell he was supposed to face without a gun—

He heard Rain's shout of annoyance then- "J.D, _get down_!"- and obeyed, dropping to the ground and lay there, covering his ears as the monster turned to face the new threat—

Which turned out to be preemptory, because the loud gunshot that followed a steadily increasing whir he'd previously ignored slammed into the monster, tearing it into a thousand pieces and giving it no chance to scream again.

The fiery explosion that followed was quenched by the eruption of silvery blood and wet, rubbery bits of green skin that settled over the room, even as J.D covered his head in disgust, watching through his soaked hair as Rain stepped carefully into the room. Handing off the rocket launcher she'd been holding to Matt, a slight smirk playing across her lips, she held out a hand to J.D where he lay covered in the silvery slime.

Glaring at her, he grabbed her hand- and then, yanking her closer, took a handful of the slimy shit and smashed it into her hair and right cheek.

She straightened immediately with a cry of outrage and smacked him in the head as he clambered to his feet, laughing. "God damn it J.D!"

He couldn't help but laugh as he watched her standing there, wiping the silvery fluid off her face and trying- in vain- to comb the shit out of her hair, a thoroughly disgruntled look on her face.

"Are you guys finished?" Alice asked. Her voice was cool, but looking to where she stood next to the gaping hole that had once been part of a mirror, J.D saw a small smile on her face.

Standing next to her, Matt added, "And keep your voices down. You don't know what else might be in here." Despite the seriousness of the statement, he was grinning as well.

"Fuck, this stuff is disgusting," Rain commented, completely ignoring them as she pulled another handful out of her hair, throwing it half-heartedly at J.D.

Alice rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Come on, we'd better keep moving." With that she took off down the hall, Matt immediately following to where Michael still stood, watching the end of the corridor.

From his vantage point, J.D could see Matt reach down and take Alice's hand, and smiled despite himself. "Aww," he commented.

Rain glanced up at him, then at Matt and Alice. She snorted. "And they lecture us." Reaching up, she grabbed the sides of what was actually a rather large hole in the wall and pulled herself out, pausing to pull another clump of the silvery blood out of her hair and throw it at J.D.

J.D followed, and then stopped, struck suddenly by the obvious nervousness on Olivia's face as he clambered out.

Covering the distance between them, he asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

Olivia nodded, giving him a tight smile. "Yeah. Sorry. And-" she paused for a moment, as if considering her words, then said softly, "Thank you."

He nodded. "Your welcome," he said.

Space

By the time they'd finally reached a room with information proving useful to them, over two hours had passed. Absolutely nothing had attacked them, and besides a few Dobermans still locked in their cages, they hadn't encountered any of Umbrella's monsters along the way.

It made Matt nervous.

And so he was first opening the door and walking into the room, because that was simply the way he reacted to any sort of fear. Michael attempted to lessen his fear with logic, J.D passed his off with a joke and increasingly protective gestures, Rain kept hers to herself, absolutely refusing to let anyone know she was scared, Alice struggled to help everyone else with their fear and ignored her own, and Matt— Matt kept to himself, and tried to protect the others from what could be the source of his fear.

Nudging the door open slowly, the grey carpet and plain white walls caught his eye first- and then the long table set in the middle of the room, surrounded by simple office chairs. Set around the table, against the walls and corners, were—

"Filing cabinets," Alice whispered next to him. He glanced at her, and saw that she was smiling, her eyes bright. "There might be something useful in here."

"This place is a mess," Rain stated abruptly, giving them a meaningful look. J.D was the first to catch on to the meaning in her words.

"Like someone was in a hurry to leave," he said.

Glancing around, Matt realized they were both right. Boxes sat in front of the cabinets, stuffed with papers and files, and the table was a mess- a full pot of coffee had tipped over and spilled onto the floor, leaving a blotchy stain no one had bothered to clean up.

They all stepped into the tiny room hesitatingly, glancing around as they did so. Besides the files and table, nothing particularly interesting was in the room. There was another door at the back, and as Matt turned and locked the one through which they'd entered, Michael hurried to lock the other.

Alice had already moved to the first of the filing cabinets, pulling on the handles experimentally as she checked the doors. "They're all locked," she said simply, moving onto the next. "Umbrella obviously—"

"Left the cabinet holding the keys completely unlocked?" J.D asked, looking amused as he pulled open the door to another cabinet on the far wall, revealing a wall of silver keys.

Rain, drifting over to look, snickered. "Hey, they even labeled them." Lifting one from it's hook, she tossed it to Alice. "Try this one."

Alice did, and the door slid open easily. She turned, raised her eyebrow at them. "Are you sure the cabinet was unlocked?"

J.D shrugged, and glanced at the door again. Alice went back to her search through the files inside.

Hanging back by the wall, looking awkward, Olivia hesitated before reaching up and grabbing a key as well. Walking slowly over to Alice, Matt watching out of the corner of his eye, she asked, her voice both nervous and guarded, "Can I do anything to help?"

Her comment was met with a smile of both relief and gratitude from Alice, and she nodded. "Look for any files that have anything to do with the viruses Umbrella was working on."

Olivia nodded, her expression softened somewhat, before turning to the next file cabinet and opening it.

Matt smiled slightly at the scene, glad that Olivia seemed to have given up her somewhat relentless quest to find out exactly who had the virus. He didn't think it especially mattered whether she knew who it was, or not, but Alice was adamant that they be completely sure of her loyalty before they told her anything.

That's just the way Alice was. Probably the kindest, most welcoming person he'd ever met- but fiercely protective, as well.

"This lock has been forced."

It was Michael's voice, grim and sudden, which brought him out of his reverie. "What?" he said, surprised despite himself as he hurried over.

Glancing at the door, he realized Michael was right. The damage to the keyhole wasn't particularly obvious, but it was there all the same. Someone had obviously used something else- any sort of metal appliance would have worked- to force the lock.

"Why would an Umbrella employee force the lock on a cabinet holding their own keys?" Rain asked. She was sitting on the floor, holding a box of files in her lap and shifting through them slowly, looking somewhat bored with the whole process.

Michael shrugged. "Good question," he admitted, with a small smile.

"Maybe it was someone who wasn't working with Umbrella," Olivia said. They turned to look at her, the look in her eyes undecipherable.

Matt nodded. "It's possible," he said simply, watching her closely. Her suggestion wasn't a bad one- in fact, it was most likely true- but she seemed to nervous, to willing to accept the idea of it, to be speaking only logic.

She stared back at him, her blue eyes giving nothing away.

They were both interrupted by the smashing thud as something slammed into the door.

They all turned to stare at it- all besides Alice, anyway, who continued to shift through the box more hurriedly, an almost desperate look on her face now- as another thud resounded through the room and a paper-thin crack spread through the wood.

"We have to go," Matt said shortly. He turned back, away from the door, watching as Michael grabbed the key from the cabinet and shoved it into the second door hurriedly, turning the doorknob and throwing open the door.

He fell back with a short shout of surprise, and the Doberman which had been on a direct collusion course with his face instead flew into a filing cabinet, where it fell to the ground with a short whimper.

It didn't have time to get to it's feet- Matt put a bullet through it's head, and it collapsed to the ground.

More followed, though, and as Rain, J.D, and Michael pulled out their guns and started shooting at them, J.D pushing Olivia behind him, Matt took the opportunity to hurry over to Alice, who was still kneeling on the ground in front of a box of files, shifting hurriedly through them. "Alice, come on, we have to go—"

She looked up at him, her bright eyes almost feverish, and said, "Matt, there's a file in here, I have to find it—"

Another crack appeared in the doorway.

"Forget it Alice, we have to leave—"

"It's here!" Extracting a file from the box, shoving the rest out of the way, she opened the front, reading out loud, "The virus T-I, when directly injected from one living system to another—"

"Alice." Matt said simply.

For whatever reason, the calmness in his voice got to her; looking up, she seemed surprised to realize that the door was crashing in, that the others were clustered outside the room, shouting at her to follow, and climbed to her feet, stuffing the file into her knapsack even as Matt told her "Forget it Alice, there's no time." Grabbing his hand, she ran through the room, and made it through the doorway just as the other door crashed in, Matt letting go of her hand to slam the door shut and lock it.

Whatever was in the room thumped against it, and the group took off running down the hallway they'd encased themselves in, the walls in this one plain and white rather than mirrored as the other one had been.

Fortunately, the first windowless room they came across also had a stainless steel door, and as the six piled in, Matt slammed and locked the door.

He glanced around the room, doing a check of everyone else's situation that had become instinctive. Michael, probably the least in shape of the five of them, leaned against the wall panting, but unhurt; Rain stood next to him, looking both exasperated and concerned; J.D was talking to Olivia, and Alice—

Alice was kneeling on the floor again, paging through the file. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Matt dropped to his knees next to her. "So what's in the file, anyway?" he asked wryly.

J.D snorted. "Yeah, no kidding. That thing almost got you killed."

Alice ignored them both. "It's encoded," she said simply, looking at Matt.

He paused. "You were reading it before," he pointed out, giving her a confused look.

She nodded. "I know. That was just- basic information. Stuff we already know." He stared at her wordlessly, and she added quietly, "It's probably important."

"Maybe I can read it," Olivia said quietly.

They all turned to look at her, and she shrugged. "I understand some of the abbreviated names and symbols Umbrella used in a lot of their documents. Maybe I can help."

Alice wordlessly handed her the file, and Matt, staring at her worried expression, felt an instant tinge of both worry and affection. It was completely like her to worry so much over someone else, he knew that- but all the same, he wished he could find some way of alleviating that worry.

He reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. She smiled at him, a beautiful smile of gratitude mingled in her worry, and squeezed back.

They both looked at Olivia then, where she had sat down as well, the entire group clustered around her. Even Michael had managed to step away from the stabilizing wall to sit down in front of her.

Matt smiled, despite himself, thinking of how ridiculous they probably looked. Five adults, cloistered around, waiting eagerly for Olivia to read out whatever was written on the papers.

It made him think of times when he was small. When him and Lisa would sit with his grandmother, listening to her read Christmas letters sent from his parents while they worked away from home- in, he was to learn in a few years time, a small group attempting to arrest and destroy all Umbrella's pharmaceutical development. Him and Lisa would fight over who got to see the letter, who got to read parts of it themselves- even though Lisa, eight at the time, couldn't make out half of their mother's tiny handwriting.

He wished he was there instead. They all seemed so old now, and yet were barely adults. Him and Alice were both 25, J.D, 23, Michael, 22, and Rain, only 21. And yet, in less than 30 years they had already endured what seemed a lifetime spent fighting against Umbrella.

Olivia shuffled the papers, and Matt was brought back into the present by the hesitant look on her face.

"I think I understand this," she said slowly. "It's about a particular strain of the T-virus, the one I mentioned earlier- one transferred from an injection directly into living tissue to another life form."

She looked up, as if waiting for some sign to continue, and then said, "They're- predictions, I guess you could say. Fairly accurate ones, basically stating the length of time one can last before mutating, depending on the circumstances. Particularly one person- an AN04. From first infection, he's supposed to undergo a bunch of symptoms like—"

"Skip ahead, we know this shit already," J.D told her abruptly.

She didn't seem insulted in the least, but just continued: "It basically states that despite all injections of the anti-virus and any other precaution taken- besides, of course, an anti-virus, titled AV04, created specifically to reverse the effects of said virus- he will mutate, turn into a creature they call Nemesis, by— by July 21st."

"But that- that's in eight days," Alice said, sounding stunned. "Are you sure?"

Olivia nodded, looking both grim and, Matt couldn't help but notice, shrewd. Like she was waiting for some sort of reaction to identify exactly who was carrying the virus.

Whether the others saw the same look or simply understood that to say something would irreparably give the information away, Matt didn't know. But they were all quiet- not a word was spoken.

Eight days. Barely more than a week. Eight days to find the virus, eight days to use it- eight days at the most.

Alice's hand tightened around his, and it should have brought him comfort, but it didn't.

It should have brought him warmth, but it didn't.

Matt was cold.

_Eight days._


	5. Chapter Five: Closing Your Eyes

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or its characters. Except Michael, and Olivia, and William, and this plot. I own a few things, anyway. Just not the baseline :)

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as their explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Again, a thousand thanks to all those who have reviewed and commented upon "Into the Light" thus far! Particularly for chapter five: Valerie, Gabzilla, Serpentia, rain1657, Usagi Jokasami, Faded Writer, and Mathews89; I am eternally grateful, please continue!:) And again: please feel free to critique, I'm completely open to comments and suggestions. Also, _please _leave your email with your review, I like writing back and commenting! :)

Also, exciting news: I went to a police station tour yesterday as part of my Forensics unit in class, and now actually know something about guns! Be prepared for _realism_ in the next few chapters, lol. Very excited about it.

Thanks to a tip from Valerie, I'm trying for _real _spaces this time, lol. Wish me luck!

(Minutes later) Did not work. I honestly think I'm cursed. Loads of thanks to Valerie for the suggestion! Back to "y" again :)

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Five: Closing Your Eyes

_Eight days._

The words seemed imbedded into Alice's brain, shifting in fear and turmoil as she accepted the words and tried to be positive, think of a solution; and then denied them in the next moment, unable to believe in a fate so seemingly hopeless.

However, as she stood in the middle of the tiny room, watching as the others, already seated on previously unrolled sleeping bags, spoke quietly amongst themselves, one thing stayed the same.

She wished she'd never found the files.

She made her way over to Matt, where he sat on their sleeping bag, still facing the wall.

They only had four now. J.D's had been left at the train station, and with the extra addition of Olivia, that meant two sleeping bags had to be shared. Her and Matt had chosen one, and she assumed J.D and Rain would bunk up as well.

Matt hadn't said a word since Olivia had read out the last of the files, and Alice hadn't pressed the issue. She knew he'd talk to her when he needed to.

But then, he probably wouldn't get a better chance than now. J.D and Rain were both in the glassed in room next door and Michael and Olivia, where they sat by the door, were completely absorbed in conversation regarding the chemical tendencies of most of Umbrella's viral weaponry.

So she made her way over to Matt and sat down beside him, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Matt?" she asked softly, praying to whatever god was listening that he wouldn't be crying.

She couldn't stand to see him cry. Matt was the strongest, the most reliable person in the world to her, and when he broke down, it was like he was a different person. Stripped of his confidence, he was scared and at times almost needy, a heartbreaking sight to see.

When he turned to her, however, his face was blank. He wasn't crying, and yet somehow the blankness was a hundred times worse to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly. No response. She took a breath, tried again. "Matt?"

His face was still a mask of indifference, and she blinked back tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Matt," she started, aware of how ragged her voice had become, "Matt, I'm sorry."

The words brought him out of his reverie, and he turned to face her finally, a look of startled bemusement crossing his features. "What?"

Alice closed her eyes, feeling a tear snake down her cheek and hating herself for it, wanting to be stronger. For Matt. She should be comforting him, it shouldn't be the other way around. "I'm sorry."

Matt smiled, a gentle smile, and wiped away her tear with his hand, the touch soft on her cheek. "Why?"

She forced herself to smile. "I just wish I hadn't found the file," she admitted.

He looked surprised, and then amused, and then suddenly saddened, the expressions flitting over his face like summer fading into winter. "It's not your fault," he told her. "We would have found out eventually anyway, and it's better we know now. It gives us more time to fight."

She nodded, and leaned into him. He pulled her close to him, and then, lifting her chin gently, told her softly, "I love you."

She smiled up at him, touched at the way Matt seemed to have a sort of inbred need to express his emotions. She knew he loved her, just as he knew she loved him- they didn't need to say anything.

But then, sometimes words were so much comforting than simple knowledge.

"I love you too," she whispered, and then kissed him softly, reveling in an embrace she knew the poignancy of all too well.

They still had eight days. Eight days to find the anti-virus- AV04, to be exact- and distribute it to Matt. Eight days to save his life, to deal an incidental blow to Umbrella with the loss of a new highly-hoped for "specimen".

Eight days wasn't a lot of time. But she loved Matt. They all did. Even J.D, so prominently against his presence in the beginning, had grown not only to accept, but welcome his presence in the group.

In eight days time they would fight Umbrella's creations, they would make their way through the labs- they would find the cure.

Eight days was all they needed.

y

The room was glaringly white and shockingly sterile, and with the bright floodlights fixated in the corners of the ceiling, Rain felt surprisingly like a rat in a cage. Especially with the fact that the room they were in was encased entirely in two-way mirrors, with the exception of one actual window.

Even though she knew the only people on the other side of the wall were Matt, Alice, Michael and Olivia, it was still fucking creepy to be staring at her and J.D's reflection and knowing someone could be staring in at her.

J.D was somewhat quiet, staring at the mirrors with a perplexed expression on his face. Rain waited patiently for a moment before asking, "What are you doing?"

He snorted. "Staring at the wall, is that okay with you, Rain?" he replied, no particular rancor in his tone.

"You're quiet, though," she observed, completely unfazed by his answer. "Are you okay?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine. Being in here, though- it reminds me of being in the hospital in Raccoon."

Rain pondered that for a moment, wishing she had something to say besides the candid comment that first popped into her head: "Oh. That sucks."

But the truth was, she had no idea what it would be like to be trapped inside here, waiting anxiously for Umbrella to come and experiment on you, use you for whatever sick purpose they'd brought you in here for. When she'd woken up, it had only been for a moment before she'd passed out again, and she'd woken up to see Matt and J.D watching over her. Still half asleep and suffering the side effects of massive blood extractions and all the shit Umbrella had drugged her with, none of the situation had even particularly registered to her until she was safely away from it.

With J.D, though, it'd been different. She couldn't even imagine what J.D's last moments had been like- hadn't even asked him. She didn't want to.

Because no matter the rationality behind it, she still felt guilty for letting go of his hand. She hadn't meant to- with fucking Spence and Kaplan trying to pull her away, she hadn't exactly had a choice. But she wondered, still, what it would have been like had it been her in that situation instead of J.D. How _she_ would have felt when J.D dropped her hand, leaving her to the inevitable consequences.

At least he didn't remember most of it. That's what he had told her, anyway. That he hadn't been able to remember a lot of the things he'd done when he was dead, and that when he'd first woken up, it'd been like being born again. He hadn't remembered anything until nearly an hour later.

God, that must have been fucking terrifying.

Rain looked at him again, sitting and still staring into the mirror. She looked at the mirror too, flicking her eyes from her reflection to his, and making eye contact with him through their reflections. He quirked an eyebrow, both curious and amused, and she gave a small smile in return, still trying to figure out a way to phrase what she wanted to say.

In the end she didn't need to, because just then the door opened and Olivia walked in with her stupid, hesitant smile. "Hi. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Rain ignored her, and felt J.D poke her in the back as a result. She turned to glare at him as he said, "You're not interrupting."

Olivia smiled. "Good. I was actually hoping to talk to you for a minute." She paused. "Alone. If that's okay."

This led to both of them staring at Rain as if waiting for a verdict to the question. Instead of answering, she simply stood and walked out of the room, leaving them to their conversation.

Maybe she shouldn't dislike Olivia. She barely knew the girl anyways. But she was boring, for chrissake, and- shifty, somehow. Like she was hiding something.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she skipped past Matt and Alice, who seemed to be sharing a close moment on their sleeping bag, and moved onto Michael instead, who sat near the door, paging through the file.

She dropped down next to him, and he looked up at her with a faintly amused smile. "Hey, Rain."

She smiled back at him. "Hey," she greeted him easily. Michael could be boring sometimes too, but he was a nice guy, and had a good head on his shoulders. "What are you working on?"

"I'm just paging through these," Michael said, gesturing to the papers on the ground with the ones in his head. "Olivia taught me some of the abbreviations, and the rest were easy to figure out."

She nodded. "Anything interesting?"

"Yeah," he replied. Looking up at her, he continued, "Over the next eight days, Matt's going to be way more volatile than he was before. The time between dosages of the anti-virus is going to decrease, and—"

"How long until he needs another dosage?" Rain interrupted him.

He shrugged. "Probably about a day," he said honestly. "Stress, of course, will make it worse. Any anger, any fear- pretty much any emotion should be avoided over the next few days. The AV04 is in one of the labs, according to this, so as soon as we find out which one and where it is, it'll be that much easier."

She quirked an eyebrow. "And how many are there, exactly?"

Michael smiled, an almost sheepish grin, and admitted. "Close to twenty."

She laughed. "And what, are we just going to sweep through the whole thing 'till we figure out which one it is?"

Michael shrugged. "A lot of the labs are used for different things. It's possible Umbrella could have put the anti-virus in either of them simply to throw us off, but it's most likely in one of the labs used to store viral development."

"And how many of those are there?"

"Only four."

"Oh," Rain paused. "That's not bad, actually."

Michael smiled. "Not really, no. Especially considering three of them are on the same floor."

"So which one do you think it is?"

Michael pointed to a location on the map he'd found in the files. "Here. This one's nearly on the bottom level, has six locks, steel walls, a lot of security overall. I'm guessing that if Umbrella planned to keep anything guarded, that's where it would be."

"Unless it's a decoy," Rain said darkly. "You never know with Umbrella."

Michael shrugged. "Maybe Olivia knows. And anyway, the important thing right now is that we make sure nothing upsets Matt, or stresses him out."

"We're in the Hive, that's going to be sort of hard to manage," Rain pointed out.

Michael smiled. "I know. But everyone in the group- especially you, Rain- has to be careful around him. Try not to upset him in any way, and if he starts getting edgy, get me or Alice." He peered at her, as if trying to make sure she understood. "So no fighting?"

She laughed. "Of course not. What, you think I'm an idiot or something?"

He grinned. "Well, there is a reason Alice insisted I make sure to let you know all this information."

Rain had to laugh. Insulting as the prospect seemed, it was true. She loved Matt like a brother, and she was sure he loved her too.

But that didn't stop them from butting heads every five minutes, either.

y

The door closed behind Rain and Olivia stood in front of it, looking like a little kid ready to present her first book report. Her hands were clasped in front of her, and her expression was hesitant as J.D gazed at her expectantly.

Finally, he gestured at the wall with his shoulder and suggested, "Why don't you sit down or something?"

She did, sitting down in front of him without a word- and then burst into speech immediately. "Look, R.D, I just wanted to say—"

She broke off suddenly, staring at him with a perplexed look. Whether she'd simply forgotten what she was going to say or had just lost her resolve, J.D didn't know.

Of course, his laughter could have had something to do with it too.

"What?"

J.D snickered. "It's _J._D, not _R._D. Olivia."

"Oh," she said, looking only slightly embarrassed. "Sorry. But anyway, _J._D—"

He couldn't help but laugh again at the emphasis she put on his name and she paused again, looking exasperated. "What?"

J.D waved at her. "Nothing. Keep going."

"Okay," she said, casting him a suspicious look, as if expecting him to start laughing again at any given moment. "Fine. I just wanted to say thank you."

J.D look at her, surprised. "For what?"

She smiled. "Just- for being there. Everyone else has pretty much ignored me, and I doubt anyone here trusts me. But you're- different. You've actually treated me like a person."

The confession startled him even more, and he wondered what she wanted him to say. Lie to her, and say they did? Defend Alice and Matt, who'd actually been nice to her as well? Or just act like she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary?

Finally he settled on a median. "Nobody _hates_ you," he pointed out.

She laughed. "She does," she said wryly, nodding outside the singular windowed panel behind J.D.

J.D turned and looked, seeing Rain where she sat looking over documents with Michael. "No she doesn't," he lied easily.

As if she could hear them talking about her, Rain turned to look at them. When she took in their faces, both staring out at her, she fixed them both with a stony glare before returning her attention back to Michael.

Olivia stared at him, and J.D grinned. "Rain just has to get used to you."

She nodded, a small smile on her face. "That might take awhile."

He shrugged, looking at Rain. Olivia's silence finally registered to him and he turned to look at her.

She was quiet and still, gazing at him with her huge blue eyes, her mouth slightly parted. As he stared back at her, his thoughts seeming to vanish only to be replaced by those eyes, his body reacting as if by impulse as he leaned forward, realizing as he did how close she was—

And captured her mouth in a kiss, feeling her respond with a thrilling jolt, losing himself in her—

And pulled back suddenly, flushed, and glanced, almost automatically, through the window behind him.

Matt and Alice were still absorbed in their conversation, and Rain still flipped through the file, a bored look on her face.

Looking slightly past her to check on Michael, J.D was shocked to see him staring back at him, an undecipherable look on his face.

"J.D, what's wrong?"

Tearing his gaze from Michael's, J.D looked back at Olivia. She stared at him, her expression confused, and he shrugged. "Nothing."

He pulled back when she leaned forward to kiss him again though, and she stopped, a hurt expression crossing her face. "Do you not want to—"

"No," J.D said, shaking his head vehemently. "No, Olivia, I do. It's just-" he paused, praying she wouldn't take it the wrong way- "Maybe we should keep it quiet."

She looked guarded. "Why?"

He shrugged. "With everything going on right now, maybe it's best we don't fuck with the whole group relationship," he said bluntly.

The words were harsh, and though he felt guilty for the look of hurt that crossed Olivia's face, he was glad the words were out there.

He cared about Olivia, yeah. Given time, he'd probably even love her.

But Rain, Matt, Alice and Michael- they came first to him, and if their relationship was going to affect them in any way, there wasn't going to be a relationship.

Olivia's voice, when she answered, was short. "So we're just going to hide it from everyone?"

"For eight days," J.D reminded her. "I just don't want anything to get in the way of what we're here to do."

She looked tired. "And what _is_ that exactly?"

J.D blinked. "What?"

She shrugged. "You guys are obviously looking for the anti-virus," she added, not as a question but as a comment. "So who's infected?"

J.D sighed. "Look, like Alice said, Olivia, we're not telling you.

"Actually, what she told me was to mind my own goddamn business," Olivia pointed out. "After Rain already had, of course."

A hot flash of anger erupted inside J.D, and he fought to ignore it. "Look, Olivia, it's not my secret to keep, all right?"

She seemed to sense that she was pushing the limits with him, because she faltered, and then relented. "Fine."

He nodded. "Good."

"And I'll keep it a secret."

He nodded again. Looking at her expression, an equal mix of annoyance and grudging trust, his anger evaporated instantly. He felt bad asking her to keep their relationship, or whatever it was, a secret, like he was ashamed of it or something- but there was no way around it. Rain would be pissed if she knew- he'd lied before when he'd told Olivia she trusted her. The truth was that Rain didn't trust Olivia any further than she could throw her.

Which, being Rain, might actually be a considerable distance.

But the point was, she'd freak if she found out he actually planned to get closer to Olivia than he had to. She wouldn't trust him anymore- none of them would. And trust was the very thing their entire group relationship was based upon.

Refocusing on Olivia, J.D smiled at her. "Thank you," he said softly. "I'm going to go talk to Michael about it, okay?"

He couldn't kiss her, and so he reached forward and grabbed her hand, clasping it in his own. She smiled ruefully at her, and he felt a brilliant wave of appreciation for her understanding nature as he squeezed her hand once; and then relinquished it, and left the room.

y

Michael was quite possibly the only one who'd been suspicious of the interaction taking place between J.D and Olivia when she'd walked into the room and closed the door behind her. J.D and Rain had closed the door as well; but then, those two always had the doors closed if one of them wanted to talk about something personal.

And if anyone else closed the door while walking in, J.D was always more on guard than usual- particularly with people he didn't know as well.

Like Olivia.

But this time he'd only glanced out the solitary window once- almost as if to make sure no one was watching them- and then turned back to Olivia.

And then there'd been the kiss, which had ended with another guilty scan for viewers by J.D.

This time he'd seen Michael watching, and unfortunately, would probably want to talk about it later.

Not a prospect Michael looked forward to. Olivia was a nice enough woman, but J.D barely knew her. None of them did. And then getting together could only bring about more conflict.

Unfortunately, he doubted J.D would be willing to listen to any of this.

In any case, he'd find out soon- because at that moment, the door opened again and J.D walked out, looking pleased, but with undercurrents of worry as well.

He nodded at Matt and Alice, punched Rain playfully on the shoulder, and headed straight for Michael, who raised an eyebrow at him as he sat down and leaned forward.

"Look, Michael," he began. "About me and Olivia—"

"It's not going to work," Michael interrupted, looking at him sympathetically. "I mean, J.D, look- it's good that you and Olivia get along, but think of how the group would react to it. Nobody trusts her already- they'd think she was getting close to you just to get information. And who knows? She might be. And then with Matt and everything- maybe you guys should wait."

J.D nodded. "You're right."

Michael blinked. "Oh," he said, surprised. "Well. Good."

"And that's why we're keeping it secret," J.D continued.

"What?" Michael asked. "J.D, are you _insane_?"

He sighed. "Look, I know it's fucked up," he said. "But could you just- please- keep it quiet? Just for eight days."

Michael shook his head. "J.D, I'm sorry, but this plan has way too many flaws and I just don't think—"

"What are you guys doing?" Rain asked cheerfully.

Both men jumped, and then J.D grinned at her. "We're talking about science, Rain. People of intelligence only."

She snorted. "I guess that excludes you, doesn't it, J.D?"

"At least I finished high school," he shot back at her, grinning.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up," she said with a laugh. "J.D, you fucking retard."

He grinned. "So why are you here, anyway?"

"Matt and I are guarding tonight," she said promptly. "So you guys should probably get some sleep, so you'll guard properly tomorrow and nothing will sneak in and kill us all while we sleep."

She stood and wandered across the room, answering J.D's shout of "Goodnight Rainy!" with a physical expression of her annoyance at the term.

J.D looked back at Michael, his smile gone. "Look, just- please don't say anything," he pleaded.

Michael stared at him hard, then nodded. "Fine."

J.D smiled, looking relieved. "Thanks, Michael," he said quietly. Michael shrugged, and J.D took the opportunity to hurry off to his knapsack, where he began to rummage through it for something as Michael watched him silently.

J.D and Olivia were both behaving like idiots, and this plan was risky at best. Michael understood that finding someone, particularly in their situation, was near impossible- but it wasn't worth sacrificing the bond of trust the group shared.

But then, it's not as if saying anything to everyone would help either. It was J.D's business, not his. And it was only for eight days. Maybe it could work.

But if a more likely outcome occurred, and the whole thing blew up in their faces, it was J.D's job to pick up the pieces.

y

J.D didn't look happy.

Olivia had been watching him, her face pressed up against the window, for ten minutes now. It wasn't exactly beneficial to her and J.D's "cover-up", but it's not as if anyone was paying attention to her.

She hated this whole situation, and yet she loved it too. Keeping their newly formed relationship secret was stupid, and childish as well. But if nothing had happened to keep secret, Olivia never would have had the chance to get closer to J.D.

She did love him. She barely knew him, but he was the only one out of the entire group who seemed even to care about her fate.

J.D finished talking to Michael and walked over to his knapsack. Looking up, he flashed her a brief smile before unzipping the pack and rummaging through it.

That was the signal that Olivia could leave the room now. By the fact that the relief in his smile was real, though tinged with slight worry, Olivia guessed Michael had agreed to keep their relationship a secret.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Relief, absolutely; if Michael hadn't agreed, Olivia had no doubts J.D would have called the whole thing off. He cared too much about his friends to risk tension in the group.

It was that sort of caring that made Olivia intensely jealous. J.D had known some of them for years, and lying to them like this was undoubtedly hard for him. And despite guild, she couldn't help but feel a sort of proud superiority because he was making this sacrifice for her.

But she felt guilty, too, because despite her occasional isolation, a lot of people in the small group had been kind to her- even after they'd found out she worked for Umbrella. Particularly Matt and Alice. And they hadn't had to.

Olivia sighed.

It didn't matter. Everyone would find out eventually, and until then, hopefully everything would be okay.

Olivia stood and reached for the door—

And jumped nearly a foot in the air when her cell phone began to shrill loudly, vibrating against her hip where she had shoved it into her coat pocket. Pulling it out hastily, she flipped it open, looking at the caller I.D.

It read first "Umbrella"- the phone was designed only for the use of employers- and then "Private Number".

Olivia frowned. It couldn't be Crawford, or Archangelo, or any other corporation leaders- their names would have been displayed.

And the cell phone had been nearly out of batteries.

It shouldn't have rang at all.

Feeling a slight chill, Olivia lifted the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

Looking up, through the window, she saw that all activity had ceased; everyone was staring at her.

They must have heard the phone ring.

Alice looked curious, Matt thoughtful; Rain and Michael both stared at her with open suspicion.

The voice on the other end, as the caller answered, pushed all thoughts from her mind.

"Hello, Ms. Alderic," he said silkily.

Archangelo.

End

A/N: Normally my updates are every second Friday... but withthe next update daybeing Christmas Eve, I'm going to be in Lake Louise, so I won't be updating until the week after that, on December 31st.

Anyways, thanks for reading, please review, and have a lovely Christmastime (or whatever it is you celebrate)!


	6. Chapter Six: Hidden Away

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or its characters. Except Michael, and Olivia, and William, and this plot. I own a few things, anyway. Just not the baseline :)

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as their explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Hope you all had a happy Christmas, and sorry this update's taken so long:) Again, a thousand thanks to all those who have reviewed and commented upon "Into the Light" thus far! Particularly for chapter five: Susan LeGrow, Nikolai Burnside, rain1657, Faded Writer, Lolo, Serpentia, and Gabzilla; I am eternally grateful!:) And again: please feel free to critique, I'm completely open to comments and suggestions.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Six: Hidden Away

"Archangelo?" Olivia hissed in disbelief.

William leaned back in the chair he'd placed in this position specifically, resting his feet on the table in front of him. "You're not happy to hear from me, Ms. Alderic?" he asked, his tone bored. "How disappointing."

Her face, magnified on every screen displayed on the wall in front of him, twisted. "Why are you calling?"

William leaned forward. "I am calling, Ms. Alderic, because we may have found a way out of the Hive. If you're still interested, of course."

She looked irritated. "You've left me down here for over a week, and now that I've met up with the Umbrella team, you've finally gotten around to sending a team down for rescue? Nice coincidence there."

William frowned. "I'm afraid I don't understand what point you're trying to make, Ms. Alderic," he said arrogantly, glaring at the screen as if she could see him.

"I'm _saying, _Archangelo, that you can forget it. I'm not working for Umbrella anymore, and once we leave, I'm distributing your priceless _documents_ all over the world."

William laughed, and Olivia looked aggravated. She'd obviously assumed that the threat to distribute all files documenting Umbrella's past activity would be effective. And as far as threats went, it was rather effective- except for one small exception.

"It's unfortunate, then, that you're not going to leave," William said, feeling almost cheerful. As close as he'd ever been, anyway. "Or have I forgotten to mention that?"

On screen, Olivia paled. "What are you talking about?"

"Umbrella has very conveniently agreed to block off the Hive once again," he said easily. "With the Raccoon situation, of course we don't need anything else spreading through the city." He paused. "But, most unfortunately, that leaves you and your newfound friends with absolutely no way out. Except, of course, for the route of escape I'm offering you."

She was silent, her face twisting, and he smiled. "So let's try this again, Ms. Alderic. Are you interested, or not?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Olivia answered. "Yes. I'm still interested."

"Good. Look at your phone."

"What?" Olivia asked, sounding confused.

William sighed. The ineptitude of these people never failed to astound him. "Just look at your phone, Ms. Alderic."

Olivia obliged, and he reached forward and tapped the key on the speaker he was using in place of a phone. A map of the Hive flashed across the screen, and he pressed send.

"A train will be waiting for you on the northeast corridor of the first floor in a hidden station. A key and further instructions will be waiting there for you." He paused, watching as the locations lit up on the screen. "And Ms. Alderic? Don't try to escape through there without my knowledge. I assure you, it's heavily guarded." There was a silence. "Is that clear?"

"Where will I be going then?"

William erased the map from his screen, allowing it to flash back to Olivia. "Rejoining your friends and family, of course," he lied smoothly.

Never mind the fact that her one remaining family member had just lost her life in a tragic incident exactly one week ago today. It hadn't been _his_ fault, after all. Left up to him, he couldn't care less what happened to the woman.

No, she had simply been stupid enough to stay home and wait for her daughter to return from a doomed mission instead of escaping town- or attempting to, at least- like the rest of Raccoon's denizens.

Unfortunate as it was, she'd deserved what she'd gotten: eaten alive by zombies.

Not a nice way to die.

William sighed contentedly. It was times like these that made William glad for the money and prestige he had to keep him well away from these incidents, and for the fact that he was currently about a thousand miles away from Raccoon's city borders.

In fact, there were only two things to be upset about at this particular time: his daughter, and the hamsters.

And as for the second part, well, that would be taken care of in time. And Lea was at least smart enough to stay downstairs and safe until he could come and find her.

Olivia finally answered, her voice suspicious. "And what about everyone else here?"

William smiled. "That, Ms. Alderic, is the one condition of my act of generosity."

"You want me to kill them," she said flatly.

"Don't be ridiculous," William said, irritated by her drama. "Just slip away. They won't even notice you're gone."

Olivia snorted. "And leave them as good as dead."

William shrugged. "It's your choice, Ms. Alderic," he pointed out. "Your life and freedom, or loyalty to a group of people you barely know."

She hesitated, her expression afflicted as she looked out the window where the other hamsters were situated.

William tapped the keyboard again, and the adjacent room flicked across the screen. Some kind of semi-normal activity had been restored- Parks and Addison were looking over files with Cahill, and Salinas and Ocampo were involved in some sort of perplexing game involving often violent hand movements.

Olivia's expression softened as she looked at them, and watching her face closely, William realized suddenly what the problem was.

J.D Salinas.

But then a brief flash of guilt crossed her features, and William smiled, realizing that he was being ridiculous. Olivia barely knew him- there was absolutely no reason to believe he'd prove an obstacle to his plans.

William sat back and smiled. "Well, Ms. Alderic? Have you reached a decision?"

There was a pause. And then Olivia, in no uncertain tones, told him, "Fuck you, Archangelo. We _will_ find a way out."

And then she hung up. Actually hung up on him.

He disconnected the line, feeling perplexed. Apparently, her bond to the group had already become stronger than he'd envisioned.

But then, Olivia had always been a weak-minded sentimentalist. William could not count how many ridiculous complaints he'd been forced to endure from the woman since she'd started working for him.

If she hadn't been such a brilliant lab experimentalist, if they hadn't needed her plans for an anti-virus so badly, he'd have fired her years ago.

But all in all, it was, William supposed, exactly the kind of thing he should have expected from her.

And after all, it wasn't necessarily- or even probably- her bond to the group that had elicited her answer.

It was probably her bond to J.D. William had seen the kiss, just like Cahill had, and while he'd watched with both disgust and interest, wondering exactly when the whole thing would blow up in their faces, he'd never thought it would actually _mean _something to them.

But like it or not, J.D was the key. Take that component out, ruin the pathetically sentimental bond between the two, and shatter all illusions Olivia was holding of an actual relationship and she would fold.

But William could worry about that later. For now, he had a meeting to attend.

Reaching forward, he unplugged the phone system.

Olivia wouldn't be calling him now.

Not until he found reason to call her again.

y

Olivia snapped the phone shut and shoved it in her pocket, still quivering with rage.

She couldn't believe that Archangelo had just showed up like that, had actually implied that she would betray these people just to save herself.

Olivia was a lot of things, not all of them good qualities, but she was _not _a backstabber.

She glanced out the window quickly- everyone was still involved in what they'd been doing before, and Olivia smiled slightly.

She owed a lot of that to J.D. Whether he'd seen how upset she was over the call or had just felt she deserved some privacy, he'd managed to get Matt, Alice, and Michael all involved in looking over the files again; and had even managed to divert Rain's attention with a few well-placed words.

Not that it mattered. She was sure they'd be just as outraged to hear Archangelo's pathetic attempts to win her over as she was.

Pulling open the door, she walked into the room.

The color hitting her eyes was freakishly dim compared to the sterile whiteness of the lab room, and she blinked a couple of times to refocus.

When she had composed herself, the group was staring at her, obviously waiting for answers.

Alice asked first. "Who was it?"

Olivia opened her mouth, ready to spill Archangelo's words and all the information he'd given in the conversation- and then stopped.

She wanted to tell them. And there was no reason she shouldn't- she had nothing to hide.

But, then, they still didn't trust her. And admitting Archangelo was attempting to bribe her into betrayal of them wouldn't help at all.

Olivia smiled ruefully. "Another one of Archangelo's calls. Apparently he's blocked off the entrance you used to gain access to the Hive; there's no way out."

"Did he say anything else?" J.D.

Olivia looked at him, feeling instant guilt for the answer she gave.

"No," she lied.

y

When Rain had signed up for guard duty with Matt after Alice had decided to take the first night off, she had apparently, for some reason, assumed it would actually be interesting. That the monsters roaming the corridors would actually try to break into the room despite the steel door and attack them, and they'd actually have something to do.

Judging by the behavior Matt had seen from her thus far- including loading and reloading her MP-5 and debating the different uses of a blowtorch- what she obviously hadn't been prepared for was the actual reality of the job, involving sitting and staring at the door.

"I'm bored," she announced.

Matt smiled at her. "Anything else?"

She considered. "Also, this sucks. I could be sleeping, for chrissakes. I thought this would actually be interesting."

Matt snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, there's a reason people weren't exactly clamoring to sign up, you know."

She rolled her eyes. "Like A-lice, you mean?" she asked, drawing out the name intentionally.

He blushed, and she grinned. "Yeah, sort of," he admitted.

"Well, it's a good thing she's not," Rain said with a slight snicker. "'Cos then you guys would have been too engaged in… other activities to bother with actually guarding."

He laughed, giving her a lighthearted swap she easily dodged. "Yeah, well, it's not like we'd need to anyways."

She quieted, staring at the door. "Sad, but true."

He was silent for a moment, and looked at Alice where she slept in her sleeping bag, her hair a tumbled mess of curls around her head. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly parted, sound asleep.

He loved watching her sleep. Every night they'd shared a bed, every time he'd woken up before her, he'd just lain there and watched her. There was something so completely unguarded and unworried about her when she slept. She was always completely peaceful for once, with no worry about the group or their situation or the days events to sully her thoughts; and in all the times he'd seen her sleeping, Matt had never seen her involved in nightmares.

Sleep was obviously an escape for Alice, and lying there, surrounded by her aura of peace, she was beautiful.

"I just wish we had more time alone right now," Matt said quietly.

He realized he'd spoken aloud only when Rain turned to look at him, her MP-5 resting at her hip, wearing that oddly perceptive look she got in her expression only when something serious to her was discussed. "Why? Besides the obvious, I mean."

He shrugged. "For all I know, I could be gone in less than seven days," he pointed out.

"Seven?" Rain asked, looking confused.

"Today was day one, and it's pretty much over," Matt reminded her.

"Oh."

"And I just wish I could actually spend some time with her before- something happens." Matt finished quietly.

Rain nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

She looked hesitant then, like she wasn't sure what to say. Rain had never exactly been good with words.

Then, in one quick flurry of movement, she hugged him tightly; and before he could even wrap his arms around her she'd pulled back, settling back into her former position and resorting to her classic pretending-nothing-just-happened method of changing the subject.

"So what should we do to keep busy?" she wanted to know. "We could play rock-paper-scissors, or use Olivia's head for target practice. Your choice."

Matt actually had to look at her grinning face to be sure she was joking before rolling his eyes at her in response. "What do you have against Olivia, anyway?"

She shrugged. "She's shifty, and she's boring," she proclaimed. "And useless."

Matt snorted. "And that's adequate reason to kill?"

"In some states, yeah."

Matt stopped himself before he rolled his eyes again, and she grinned at him, obviously catching his look as he tried to formulate an appropriate response.

Fortunately he didn't have to, because at that moment a high scream was heard down the corridor.

Both of them bolted to their feet immediately, heading for the door.

Matt was there first, and he opened the door slowly, glancing around the corner to see up and down the corridor.

It was empty.

Rain started to hurry out into the hallway, and he grabbed her arm. "You stay here."

She looked insulted at the prospect, and he hurried to explain. "Look, somebody has to wait here to open the door. And that scream sounded human."

"So?" she said belligerently.

He glared at her. "Are you high or something?" he demanded. "You're terrible with people. Look at Olivia."

The scream repeated itself, louder this time, and Rain faltered. "Fine," she said, looking distinctly unhappy with this turn of events.

Matt turned and bolted down the hallway, hearing vaguely a thud as Rain shut the door again.

Banging through the double doors marked "Observation and Office", he stopped.

The spotless, silvery corridor broke off into three more here, and he paused, conflicted with which to choose.

The one to the right was the same as the corridor he'd just run through, empty and plain; the one to the left of him led to a staircase, and the third, to a set of heavy chestnut doors.

Matt stilled his breathing and listened, waiting silently for a repeat of the scream he'd heard—

And stopped, looking slowly at the staircase.

The grey carpeting covering the flooring in the small room continued down the stairs to another plain, more fragile-looking steel door.

Inside the room at the bottom of the stairs, Matt could hear the sound of chewing, of snarls and slobbering as whatever was inside consumed another meal.

Looking down at the carpet, he realized blood had begun to seep under the doorway.

Turning away in disgust, Matt glanced back towards the door which he'd just come through.

Whoever the scream had belonged to, she- or he- obviously hadn't reached a happy ending.

Shaking his head, Matt grabbed the doorknob and pulled open the door—

And the screaming began again, breaking into an even higher pitch. Turning back, Matt realized suddenly that it wasn't the staircase the screams were coming from, but the room in front of him.

Steadying his gun in front of him, he opened the right door cautiously and crept in, expecting to see a woman running, screaming, from some sort of Umbrella mutation.

Instead he saw the image on the screen displayed in front of him. An image of a woman, probably sixteen or younger, running from a pack of zombified Rottweilers, still screaming. Her face was spliced down the middle, bite wounds clear in her neck and shoulders, and blood flowed freely down her arms and face as Matt hurried down the aisle towards the machine running it.

The dogs reached her and tackled her, sending it to the ground as she continued to scream, the screams magnifying themselves and echoing around Matt in the tiny room—

And then cutting to an abrupt halt as he flicked the switch.

The image faded slowly as the projector dimmed, leaving the last image of the unfortunate woman, her arms being torn from her body by the hungry Rottweilers with blood spurting freely from the wounds, firmly implemented in Matt's brain.

Looking down, Matt glanced at the logo on the bottom of the screen, reading it before it faded away.

_Umbrella Corporation Testing Program A._

The logo faded from the screen, and Matt finally took the opportunity to look around the room he was in.

It was a theatre, a media room of some sort. The double doors through which he'd entered led down the wide hallway he stood in now, the carpeting and material on the aisled seats a rich pattern of reds and oranges. The seats themselves were high and thick, more like boxed in office chairs than those traditionally found in a movie theater, and, staring at them, Matt realized exactly how well something could manage to hide behind them.

He flicked the safety off his gun, holding it ready in front of him as he continued his scan of the room.

It was almost a majestic room, with a high ceiling and full screen, but with the slight lighting emanating from dimmed bulbs on the side walls, everything looked dingy and old; almost haunted.

Umbrella had obviously used this theatre often, in presentations or simple enjoyment.

Their logo was on everything, from the backs of the chairs to the now empty screen.

Matt wandered slowly back down the aisle, sweeping his gun from side to side as he did, keeping an eye out for any Umbrella creatures.

He'd reached the doorway, and was about to push open the doors when a door to his right caught his eye.

Set in the middle of the entrance, the rooms the door led to were obviously where the media tapes and files were kept.

Matt jiggled the handle. It was locked.

He stared up at the tiny row of windows encircling the room at the top- there was obviously a staircase leading to a higher level- and wondered if he should bother looking inside.

The tapping, a dry, sudden click of nails on a tile floor, wiped the thoughts from his mind and Matt stepped back, staring at the door.

There was something in there.

Matt shook his head, turning back to the entrance. He was alone, he had one weapon, and no idea at what was in there- there was no way the odds favored him.

They could come back tomorrow and check this place out. Until then, he was going back to safe, boring guard duty with Rain.

He reached forward for the door handles—

And then a resounding thud echoed through the room and he heard footsteps rapidly ascending the stairway.

Matt took a few steps back, allowing himself some space between the doors and the back of the theatre and waited, hoping whatever it was would move on by, not know he was there.

At this point, he had no other choice. There was no way he'd be able to successfully make it past whatever waited outside.

Matt heard snarls, the same snarls he'd heard at the bottom of the stairways—

And then the doors flew open, and they bounded in.

They looked almost like dinosaurs, small and slender, with pebbly black skin, long tails, and tiny hands with long, sharp-looking claws.

Both were identical, seeming almost to smile at him, a malicious glint in their narrowed red eyes as they squealed, sounding somehow innocent despite their appearance—

And then a flap erupted from their necks, forming a hood around their faces, and emitting a border of long, silvery spikes.

Tipped with, if Matt was looking closely enough, some sort of poison.

He smiled. They were monstrous enough, but tiny, too, barely his height and perhaps one hundred pounds together.

Matt lifted his gun and took aim, sending bullets at them—

Which ricocheted, flying every which way and imbedding themselves in the walls and seats.

Obviously, guns weren't going to work.

The only problem now was that Matt didn't exactly have any other options.

"Rain!" he shouted, praying she could somehow hear him and that he wouldn't attract the attention of anything else. "Rain!"

They bounded forward, shrieking.

y

It was five o'clock a.m.

Rain fidgeted where she sat on the desk, staring at the wristwatch Matt had left behind when he'd run out of the room.

She wondered where he had gone, and why he was taking so long. Maybe he'd run into something along the way, maybe the survivor was insane, or evil—

Rain smirked. Or maybe Matt had just gotten lost. That boy had the worst sense of direction Rain had ever had the misfortune of witnessing.

But whatever he was doing, it had to be funner than what she was doing sitting around here. Which was pretty much nothing.

Olivia stirred, and Rain jumped, glaring suspiciously at her. The medic's curls were tousled over her face and her breathing was slow and even: she looked asleep.

_But then, she could be faking it_, Rain thought darkly.

Then she sighed. She was being ridiculous, she knew that. But she just didn't trust Olivia. Especially with the phone call incident. The whole group might have believed that bullshit Olivia had told them, but Rain hadn't. The girl had been blinking way too much to have been telling the truth.

Looking down, Rain smirked when she realized Olivia and J.D were holding hands.

Olivia had about the most obvious crush on J.D she'd ever seen, and the only person who hadn't seemed to notice yet was J.D himself.

She wondered idly if he liked her as well. He was holding her hand, yeah, but then, J.D was asleep. It didn't mean anything.

She doubted anything would come of Olivia's crush. J.D wouldn't jeopardize the group's safety to confide in her, and anyway, he'd talk to her if anything was going on.

Leaning back, letting her hands balance her weight on the desk, Rain stared at the ceiling, her gun sitting forgotten beside her. Matt had been fifteen minutes already, and if he didn't need help now, he probably never would.

She was still leaning back, staring at the ceiling, when the shouts finally registered to her.

"_Rain_!"

Matt, sounding panicked, and annoyed.

Jumping off the desk, grabbing her MP-5, Rain hurried towards the door—

And then stopped, cursing as she realized she was going to have to wake someone up to stand by and let them both in when they returned.

She heard Matt shout again and winced as she shouted, "J.D!"

He didn't even move, and she let out another curse of frustration. J.D slept like a fucking bear, for chrissakes.

Dropping to her knees, she shook him roughly. "J.D, wake the fuck up."

He finally did, gazing at her blearily. "Rain, what the hell—"

"Just wait and open the door when I knock," she said, not bothering to explain further before making her way back across the room and hurrying out the door, slamming it behind her.

She rushed down the steel corridor and banged through the double doors at the end of it—

And then stopped, this time with a curse of exasperation. The room on the other side of the door branched off into three other directions, and Rain had no idea where Matt had gone.

The corridor to her right looked empty, deserted; the massive double doors in front of her looked completely untouched, as did the stairway to the left of her.

"Matt?" she said softly, hoping he was nearby.

Not a sound, and she let out a low growl of frustration—

And then heard the tiny creak of a door opening.

Rain glanced towards the sound, down at the bottom of the staircase. The door was ajar and a dim light spilled forth from it, revealing a red fluid she hadn't noticed before.

"Matt?" she repeated.

Again no answer, and so she stepped up first to the massive double doors in front of her, yanking on the handles.

They were locked.

With a small smile of triumph- that ruled out one option, anyway- Rain turned to the stairs, readjusting her grip on her weapon as she descended them.

The door opened slowly, with an ear-piercing creak and Rain shivered in disgust as she saw the scene set in front of her.

A lab technician lay on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood and dark green mucus. It's face, arms, all of it's body had been literally shredded and bitten into on the surface- but the cause of death was clearly the evisceration whatever had killed him had carried out on him.

Rain frowned. Judging by his appearance, the man had been dead for days, if not more.

Whether something had chosen to snack on him after his death, Rain didn't know. But the screams couldn't have come from him.

She was in the wrong place.

Standing again, turning to leave the room and find Matt, something caught her eye.

A key, shining on a necklace the technician wore.

Bending down in front of the body again, Rain reached forward and brushed aside the bloody mucus covering the man's through, brushing her hand off on her pants with a disgusted grimace. Grabbing the necklace in her hand, she gave it a sharp yank, trying to break the chain—

And stifled a disgusted gasp as the man's head dislodged from his body completely, exposing a tangle of fried, silvery strands of brain matter in what had once been his cranium.

Rain shook her head, dropping her gun to reach down and grab the key from where she had dropped it by the man's now-unattached head. It might prove useful, if Matt was in someplace she couldn't gain access to—

And the hand which grabbed the back of her jacket and yanked her roughly to her feet startled her, making her drop the key. She squeezed her hand automatically, feeling for the trigger of her gun—

And that's when she realized, as she came to a full turn to face it, that her gun was still on the floor with the body.

Balancing herself and preparing to run or fight, whichever was better, Rain finally saw the person's face.

It was Matt, his veins standing out from his head in thick lines of purplish red, his eyes bloodshot and wide, his face rippling.

"Rain." His voice was different too, low and almost threatening, as if he was struggling to keep his anger at bay. "Rain, get Michael."

She stared at him, as if in shock, and he shouted, "Rain, go!".

The words vibrated through the room, and Rain turned and ran.

y

Olivia was surprised at how quickly she'd gotten to sleep. Locked down here, in a maze full of mutations and viral exposures, in the very place where she'd been afraid to sleep for over a week now, she'd expected to wake up with nightmares within the hour.

Instead she'd only woken up when Rain, sounding worried, had shaken J.D awake.

Though instantly curious at the reason behind the awakening, Olivia had been drowsy, but happy to see that up until Rain had woken him up fully, J.D had been holding onto her hand.

He was pacing now, in front of the doorway, holding an assault rifle in his hands.

Evidently, whatever Rain had said had been important.

Everyone else, however, was still sleeping. Rain hadn't exactly bothered to be quiet when she'd woken up J.D, but then, what was the point? They'd all passed out within minutes; everyone was too tired to wake up with small interruptions.

She looked up at J.D through eyes shaded with eyelashes, taking in the worried expression on his face. She thought about saying something, but dismissed the thought as quickly as it'd come.

Dishonest as it was, she wanted to know what was going on. And faking sleep might be the only way to do that.

She didn't have to wait long.

J.D jumped at the barrage of knocking on the door and hurried to open it. Olivia clenched her eyes shut, wanting to make sure nobody saw she was awake.

She didn't have to worry about it, since nobody seemed to be focusing on her. Rain just brushed past J.D, ignoring his questions, and stepped over her sleeping bag, heading obviously to either Michael or Alice.

"Michael! Michael, wake up." Michael, obviously.

Olivia heard groggy murmurs, and Rain's short reply of, "It's Matt. Bring the anti-virus."

Alice's voice pitched in. "Rain, what's going on?"

Obviously she'd heard Rain's last sentence, because she sounded fearful but resolved, like she already knew what she was going to say.

Rain's response came slowly. "Matt- he's mutating again. I don't know how bad."

Olivia heard the unzipping of knapsacks as the group stocked up on weapons, or something, and then a thunderstorm of footsteps as they hurried past her again.

The door opened, and a short, hissed argument between J.D and Rain ensued on the topic of who was going to be left behind. Rain won, and the door slammed behind her.

J.D sat down and sighed.

Olivia turned away from him, taking care that her motion's were fluid and slow like a sleeping person's would be, and opened her eyes, letting all the information sink in.

Anti-virus, mutating, Alice's worry….there was only one explanation.

Matt was infected.

y

Alice was the third person to descend the stairs into the tiny, crammed room, and she watched without comment as Michael rushed up to Matt and, with no time wasted, stabbed him in the back with the needle he held in his hand.

Matt crumpled, and she hurried forward, feeling the shaky release of adrenaline as she collapsed to her knees next to him, lifting his head into her lap. Brushing the hair spread across his forehead aside, she gave it a light kiss. His eyes were closed now, and she felt a thud of relief seeing that the veins in his face were receding back under the skin, into their normal state.

She turned furiously to Rain then, asking shortly, "What happened?"

Rain straightened from where she was collecting her weapon, shoving what looked like a key into her pocket. "I don't know."

"How can you not _know_?" Alice asked, trying to keep the aggravated tone out of her voice and failing miserably.

"I just don't, okay!?" Rain said, raising her voice. "We heard someone screaming, so he went to look for her. "

"And you just stayed behind and did nothing?" Alice asked accusingly.

"He was the one who told me to!" Rain shouted. "He said he could handle it—"

"Well he obviously couldn't," Alice said bitingly, and Rain looked ready to explode at the accusation.

"Look, both of you, shut up."

Michael's voice, and Alice turned to him, ready to unleash the same anger on him.

"We don't know what's down here," he said reasonably. "So we should probably keep it down."

Their surroundings finally registered to Alice, and she glanced around the room.

It was a simple room, looking almost like an old fashioned living room. The décor was done entirely in pale yellows and dark browns, very contemporary and somehow depressing, and the pale light flooding the room came from a hooded lamp on the coffee table. A couch and two chairs surrounded the table, and Rain collapsed into one, looking exhausted, as Alice took a moment to marvel at all the fucked-up rooms the Hive seemed to host.

She turned back to Michael. "It's only one room," she pointed out, brushing her hand over Matt's head almost absent-mindedly.

He shrugged. "I doubt that," he said easily. "I'm willing to bet a thousand dollars that closet over there leads to a whole series of other passageways."

Glancing at it, Alice realized he was probably right. In this place, there was something hidden everywhere: why would this room be any different?

She would have noticed, if she hadn't been so busy blowing up at everyone around her.

She turned to look at Rain, who sat slumped on the couch, looking exhausted. "Look, Rain, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said," she said quietly. "I'm just worried about Matt."

Rain shrugged, a slight lift of her shoulders which to her suggested absolute, and completely obvious, forgiveness. "Whatever."

Then she sat up, looking at her hard. "You can trust me with him, you know," she said, completely serious. "I'm not going to get him fucking killed. Or mutated."

Alice smiled. "I know."

Rain nodded. "Good," she said finally.

Michael cleared his throat, and both women looked at him. "We should probably get out of here," he pointed out. "The three of us together can probably carry him."

He looked down at Alice, adding softly, "We can find out what happened tomorrow."

Alice smiled at him. "Thank you," she said quietly.

And then she sat up slowly, helping to get Matt's arm wrapped around Michael and herself, Rain lagging behind with the gun for defense purposes.

She already felt guilty for blowing up at Rain. The brunette obviously felt bad about what had happened, even if she'd rather die than admit it.

She was just afraid for Matt. They all were.

Because seven days right now, unless they found the virus first, he'd be gone forever.

End

A/N: Thanks, everyone, for your patience with this chapter... have a happy new year! Next update is a regular time, on January 14th.


	7. Chapter Seven: Shattered Circle

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: Consider the lacking amount of people _using_ the characters out there, I should own them. But I don't. So don't sue :)

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as their explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Firstly, sorry for the late update. As some of you may or may not know, was having another stupid, inconvenient "updating" session. Am I the only one who's growed bored with them lately?

Secondly, hope you all had a happy New Years! Again, a thousand thanks to all those who have reviewed and commented upon "Into the Light" thus far! Particularly for chapter six: FREAKSHOW1, Susan LeGrow, Jordsan, rain1657, Gabzilla, Darkness Amber, Faded Writer, and kk! And again: please feel free to critique, I'm completely open to comments and suggestions.

This chapter's a bit longer than most, though I'm not sure why.

"Y" for spaces again :)

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Seven: Shattered Circle

"And then they jumped at me."

Matt paused, feeling Alice's hand clench around his own.

He'd woken up six hours after his escapade with the mutated dinosaurs to a sea of concerned faces and Alice's worried inquiries. Michael had conned Olivia into leaving the room under the pretext of re-examining the files, and now Matt sat explaining what had happened to everyone present.

"And then- I don't know. I must have just passed into Nemesis, because when I woke up, both of them were dead." He paused again. "Shredded, actually."

He squeezed Alice's hand. "And then I heard Rain, and it just got worse. I think the virus, whatever it is, somehow reacts to people; I was able to keep it under control until I could sense her, and then—I locked the door. And when I figured I had it under control, I left to find her."

He swallowed. "Except I didn't have it under control. I talked to Rain for less than a minute, and it took everything I had to resist reverting back into Nemesis."

He paused again, remembering that moment when he'd walked up behind Rain, thinking he had everything under control again. Remembered seeing her surrounded by the blood and tissue of the corpse she stood next to, her own blood, the sound of it, pounding in his ears.

When he'd grabbed the back of her jacket, it had been a predatory move, an attempt to snap her neck.

Instead he'd managed- just barely- not to hurt her, to control the instinctive desire to hunt, to _destroy_ that had been pumping through his veins. He'd yanked Rain to her feet, and though startled and annoyed, perhaps afraid, she hadn't been physically hurt.

But despite that, Matt couldn't shake the knowledge that next time he might not be so lucky.

Shaking the thoughts away, he shrugged. "And you guys know the rest," he said, trailing off as he realized exactly what emotion he was feeling.

Fear.

It was terrifying to know that you had no control over your body anymore. That in one moment the people you'd been working so hard to protect could be dead by your actions.

And the anti-virus had wiped him out this time for six hours or less. Six hours, compared to the twelve it had knocked him out for days ago.

At this rate, he might not even last the next seven days—and everyone here knew it.

Nobody seemed to want to say anything to his story, and instead of giving voice to his fears- they would only further worry the group- Matt changed the subject abruptly. "I think Olivia knows."

J.D looked at him sharply. "What makes you think that?"

Matt shrugged. "She's been acting wary of me all morning."

"She was awake last night," Alice said flatly, looking exhausted. "She heard everything."

As if on cue, the entire group turned towards Olivia where she sat in the observation room. Involved in her reading, she seemed oblivious to their stares, and Rain was the first to break the silence. "So now what?"

Matt shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"I don't trust her," she said flatly.

J.D sighed. "Rain, you don't trust anyone," he pointed out.

"If Olivia's so fucking trustworthy, why hasn't she told anyone what she's heard?" Rain countered.

"Look, I agree with Rain," Alice broke in. "But J.D's right. She could be innocent. Either way, we just have to wait and see."

"Wait and see?" Rain said, her tone disbelieving.

Alice smiled at her. "What else can we do, Rain?"

Rain seemed to ponder the question, then shrugged. "Fine."

A silence fell over the group as the door opened and Olivia and Michael walked in, both still enthusiastically debating the fine differences between cohesive and adhesive membrane adjustments.

Rain stood, followed by J.D. "So we're going back to the theatre now?"

Matt glanced at Alice, then nodded again. "Yeah. There might be more files of Umbrella's test activity there. It could be useful."

Rain shrugged. "Whatever."

With that said, she turned and left, leaving Matt to stare after her, a small smile on his face. "She's not happy."

"Rain's never happy," J.D said shortly, a dark look affixed to his face as he turned and followed.

Matt raised a surprised eyebrow at Alice, a look she returned. Rain was exasperating a lot for the time, and everyone had, at some point, lost their tempers with her—except, of course, for J.D. Easy going, affable, and generally protective of Rain, none of them had ever seen him snap at her or even insult her with any degree of seriousness.

"Something's going on with him and Olivia," Alice observed quietly.

Matt glanced at her. "How can you tell?"

She smiled. "He defends her when we argue," she pointed out. "And Michael keeps staring at them, so he obviously knows something about it too."

Matt raised an eyebrow, surprised despite himself at how closely Alice was able to see people. "So what do you think about that?"

She shrugged, and then laughed. "Honestly? I think he should probably tell Rain. She's going to flip out when she finds out he's been keeping it secret."

Matt looked at her, surprised. "She doesn't know already?"

"She trusts J.D," Alice said simply. "She's willing to believe that his defending Olivia doesn't mean anything more than what it looks like. She forgets that he's a man."

Matt grinned. "Is that an insult, Alice?"

She laughed. "No. J.D, though—he's lonely. Everyone has been, and sometimes that just takes top priority over everything else."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "So you're basically saying all men are secretive idiots driven by their hormones?"

She grinned. "Well," she said thoughtfully, lowering her eyelashes in a mocking play at modesty. "Some are."

He laughed. "Like me?" he asked teasingly.

In answer, she leaned forward and kissed him fully on the mouth, putting her hands on his knees for balance. He deepened the kiss instantly, and she pulled back, smirking at him. "Obviously."

He smiled back at her, a dopey, love-struck smile he couldn't hold back. With a ticking clock hanging over their heads, rarely were their moments together anything but stressful and emotional; it was nice to share a gentle, ordinary moment like the one they'd just had instead.

What could have developed into a touching moment was interrupted by Rain, who stood over them, her bad mood already dissipated. "Come on _Alice,_ let's move," she sing-songed, looking pleased that it was Alice holding up the group rather than her again.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Whatever, _Rain,_" she said stonily, imitating the brunette's common response.

Rain laughed, and as J.D walked by she smacked him in the arm. "Hurry up, J.D, let's go," she said cheerily.

Looking exasperated, but amused despite himself, J.D followed.

Matt smiled, looking around him at the people he'd grown so close to over the past month.

Things were stressful right now. With his mutation, their search for the anti-virus, and Olivia's new introduction to the group, it was hard to find a moment of happiness.

But then, some things never changed. Him and Alice would always share their moments, Rain and J.D would always engage in their teasing bickering, and Michael would always flit from group to group, so unlike the others but somehow fitting in so completely all the same.

It was comforting to know that no matter how much the situation changed, their group would always stay the same.

y

"Order, please, we need order in here."

Anderson's face was crimson as he began to add, "Order in the—" before stopping, apparently realizing how idiotic the statement would sound.

Glasses askew, expression embarrassed, Anderson cast him a look of desperation. William smirked.

He remembered his first important meeting, and while it hadn't been his best, it certainly hadn't been this fiasco.

If his daughter's situation had been any less imminent, he might have found it amusing.

Unfortunately, he wasn't amused, but aggravated.

Taking pity on Anderson, William stood—this godforsaken meeting would never start otherwise—and cleared his throat. "Gentlemen."

An instant hush fell over the room as all eyes turned to him and he stared at them all, his face impassive, a simple trick he'd learned from Crawford. That man _never_ smiled.

William was powerful. He knew that. But to have the sort of power Crawford held over the corporation… that was only a fantasy to him.

William frowned. Either way, it made no difference. Once he had Lea, he was taking all the money Umbrella had so kindly funded him with and leaving to another life. Perhaps somewhere in Hawaii. Lea loved the sun.

Which, of course, was what this blasted meeting had been called for in the first place.

William sat down again, nodding to Anderson, who's expression was both impressed and relieved.

As he stood, beginning the meeting once more, William smirked again.

He'd see how relieved Anderson still was when he took a chunk out of his monthly wages for this ridiculous fiasco.

He frowned. Except, of course, he probably wouldn't even be here by then.

"With an extensive search of the scene in question—"

Firing Anderson would probably be more simplistic.

"And a detailed survey of Umbrella's most trusted members—"

Assuming, of course, Anderson actually survived their excursion to Raccoon. He seemed to think he would, but then, William hadn't made him any promises.

"Many different sources of escape were discussed—"

Either way, it wasn't important.

"And eventually, one particular route was decided on."

Realizing Anderson might have finally babbled himself into something other than mindless drivel, William re-focused his attention on him as two other employees unfolded a map and he begin to go through the plan they'd decided on.

"Mr. Archangelo, myself, and 28 others—including the pilot, drivers, and S.W.A.T. teams actually _loyal_ to Umbrella—"

Here Anderson broke off and smirked. William glared at him. On him, smirking looked like it was supposed to: cold, superior, and at times frightening. Anderson, on the other hand, looked like a spoiled child.

"Will be arriving in Raccoon at seven a.m. From there, three cars will drive to the house and both S.W.A.T. teams will be sent in to secure the scene and find Miss. Archangelo. Mr. Archangelo's car will be further accompanied to a secondary entrance to the Hive currently secured and under video observation, where he and his daughter will be taken to a secondary helicopter site and flown to California."

Silence followed this recap of events; everyone in the room had obviously been through it before.

William smiled slightly. "Not a bad plan, Anderson," he acknowledged coolly.

Anderson's smile was that of a four-year-old's who'd just been told his artwork was identical to the Mona Lisa.

It faltered when William added smoothly, "I assume this was Evan Rouhiainen's doing."

Anderson's blush answered his question, and William smirked before moving onto his next question. "When, exactly, will these events be taking place?"

"July 21st, sir."

William frowned. "Why July 21st?"

"Crawford is at a board meeting all day," a small, dark-haired man sitting across from him interjected. Looking more closely, William was able to recognize him as Crawford's glorified secretary, though he couldn't recall his name.

Not, of course, that he needed to. The man was just an _employee_, for God's sake. Certainly no one worth remembering.

William glared at him, his expression patronizing. "So?"

"He won't be able to—interfere," Anderson cut in hastily, obviously sensing his displeasure with the other man. "As far as risk of detection goes, Crawford's the only real obstacle to this plan, and that's the only day he'll be away from all the surveillance equipment in the Hive."

William nodded. "Fine." Glancing around the room, his displeasure evident, he added shortly, "You can all leave."

The inhabitants of the room gazed at one another uneasily, obviously wondering at his answer to the plan and afraid to ask for one.

"I said, you can all leave now," William repeated, an edge to his voice.

They left.

Obviously realizing his ire, Anderson turned to look at William, a stupidly hopeful look on his face.

William ignored him, frowning. The plan was sound, but couldn't have been chosen for a worse day.

He sighed. Well. What needed to be done, needed to be done. It was unfortunate, of course, that he'd have to miss Addison's eagerly awaited mutation, but sacrifices had to be made. Unless…

William smiled. "Anderson. How many men are accompanying us to the Hive, and how are they leaving?"

"Including pilots and drivers… 15. Seven, including the train operators, will be accompanying us, and the rest will leave by helicopter."

"Any surveillance inside the Hive?"

Anderson nodded. "Yes. For safety purposes—"

William cut him off. "Get rid of it." Leaving Anderson looking confused, he strode to the door, before stopping and looking back at him, a smile on his face. "Anderson?"

The man looked up. "You can operate that train, can't you?" he continued casually.

Anderson nodded again. "Yes, of course," he answered warily. "But sir, no more than eight people can fit into those helicopters."

William smiled at him, feeling almost sorry for the idiotic Umbrella employee. "No one's leaving on that helicopter."

With that he turned and left, pleased when Anderson fell into step behind him like a whipped puppy.

Annoying as he was, Anderson was loyal. He wouldn't be a problem.

No witnesses, no crime… and by the time Umbrella realized what had happened, he'd be off in Hawaii with Lea, sipping brandy and relaxing—hopefully—with the fresh memory of Addison's mutation to feed off of for days.

William smiled.

Other than forcing Olivia's betrayal… his work here was done.

Now all that was left was getting the hell out of Umbrella.

y

"Do you want to look beautiful? Stay young forever?"

The woman onscreen smiled widely at the camera, flipping her long blond curls back and nodding.

"The Umbrella Corporation can help you."

Alice smirked; despite the audacity at Umbrella's attempts to advertise the viruses they'd created, the video was ridiculously amusing.

Matt brushed past her, hurrying up the aisle where a film projector stood, a pale light flashing. Alice continued to stare at the screen, transfixed, as the rest of the group filled into the room and the woman plunged a syringe into her upper arm. Her expression didn't change.

"God, that's disgusting," Rain commented, nodding towards the screen. "That they actually tried to, y'know, sell all that shit."

Alice smiled slightly. "Amazing what people will pay for the price of beauty, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically, her voice ironical.

On screen, the woman's face smoothed itself out, the eyes brightening, her hair growing longer and thicker.

Rain laughed. "Hey Alice, that looks like you," she said, her voice teasing.

Alice cast her an exasperated look, but was saved from having to formulate a response by Matt, who called her name and beckoned her forward, his face lined with tension.

"What is it?" she asked softly, stepping next to him where he stood.

He glanced at her, then said quietly, "The videos aren't playing here."

Blue eyes met blue eyes; and then Alice looked up to the wall behind them, Matt following her gaze. Both could clearly see the narrow line of windows set into the protruding block of wall obviously housing the media player. Lights were flashing inside and Matt turned to Alice, saying grimly, "Someone's up there."

Alice nodded, her expression wary. "Or some_thing_."

She glanced back at the group as Matt straightened, lifting his gun, and said quietly, "We need to get upstairs."

"That's where the video feed is coming from," Michael stated, his expression curious all the same, and Alice nodded.

"Yeah. You, Rain, Matt, and I will go upstairs and take a look around; J.D and Olivia will stay and watch the exit."

Matt smiled as an irritated look passed over J.D's face, only to be quickly replaced with one of resignation as he realized he was the only sane choice to be left with Olivia. There was no way either Matt or Alice would give up the chance to search for more information on the anti-virus, Michael's skills could be needed in interpreting the files, and Rain—

Well, leaving Rain with a frightened Olivia could only result in disaster.

Michael looked slightly surprised to be going on the alpha mission instead of simply guarding, but pleased all the same; and Rain, true to her nature, had already taken off towards the door.

J.D, his expression resigned, grabbed Olivia's elbow and left for the door.

Alice had already begun to walk towards the door, and Matt hurried to catch up to her, smiling—

And stopped, his smile freezing on his face.

The scaled dinosaurs from last night—what was left of them, anyway—lay across the floor, the seats, directly beside him.

They'd been torn open, into pieces. Bubbling black blood spilled across the floor, and Matt stared at his sleeves, at the black splotches still splashed onto the blue material—

_Waking up, terrified, hands covered in burning black liquid which he wiped frantically on the red seats before scrambling away in terror, staring up at the black domed ceiling as if it knew and understood what had just happened and would force him to understand the events that had just taken place—_

"Matt?"

He hadn't even been able to understand what was going on, that Nemesis had regained power over him, until he'd heard Rain's voice outside—

"Matt?"

Matt blinked, then turned to look at Alice. Her blue eyes were bright with worry and empathy, and he realized she'd already seen the bodies. "Are you okay?"

He forced a smile as she wrapped her arm around his waist in a gesture of comfort.

"Yeah," he lied. "I'm fine, Alice."

y

"So what are we doing?" Olivia asked quietly, as soon as they were out of earshot.

J.D turned to look at her, smiling despite himself. "Guarding the door," he said dryly. "Just in case."

She frowned. "With one 9 m.m. and an automatic?"

He shrugged, then grinned at her. "No one's actually expecting anything to come in here," he said honestly.

"So why are we here?"

He glanced at her, thoughtfully, wondering whether he should lie or be honest with her. No doubt she wouldn't enjoy hearing the honest answer, but then—Olivia hated it when the group left her in the dark. And she could take the truth.

"Probably because they don't trust you."

J.D wasn't sure what sort of reaction he'd been expecting from her—anger, sadness, confusion? He barely knew the girl. They'd made out, yeah, and he cared about her—but that didn't mean he knew anything about her.

And Alice's news had shaken him. That Olivia had seen, had found out about Matt, and hadn't bothered to tell him anything made him wonder what else she could have_ forgotten_ to mention.

Instead of looking annoyed, or even upset, Olivia just looked confused. "Why wouldn't they?"

He shrugged, lowering his gun and turning to look at her fully. "Maybe because you didn't bother mentioning you'd found out about Matt?"

She flushed. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. J.D glanced at her, surprised at her ready apology, but waiting for her to continue. "I just—none of you trust me. And I shouldn't have listened in on your conversation, but I couldn't stand being left in the dark like that."

He stared at her closely, before saying thoughtfully, "I don't blame you." She looked relieved at his answer, and he continued. "I just don't get why you couldn't tell me."

Biting her lip, she looked at the ground, and he was struck by the automatic urge to hold her, to protect her from whatever was upsetting her. Surprised despite himself at the onslaught of feeling, he held it back, waiting for her answer.

"I was afraid to," she confessed quietly. "It's just—you and Rain, you and everyone here, you're all close. I'll always be outside of that, and I was worried you'd take their side."

J.D looked at her, exasperated. "Nobody would have blamed you for listening in, Olivia.

They might have been pissed off, but let's face it, we've all done shit like that before." He paused. "By keeping it a secret, you only made it worse."

She nodded. "I know," she said softly. "Do you think I should… I don't know, talk to the group about it?"

He grinned at her. "I'd suggest you talk to Alice. She's the most protective of Matt, so she's the one you'd better apologize to."

She laughed, and he couldn't help but smile at her, reaching out to push a stray curl behind her ear. She quieted, smiling back at him in return, and he leaned forward and engulfed her mouth with his, pulling her closer and leaving his gun abandoned by his side as well as the door behind them.

The other group would be upstairs for awhile, and until then, he and Olivia would keep themselves busy with something slightly more interesting than guarding the door.

In a way, he still didn't trust Olivia, simply because he still didn't know her that well. But he trusted her enough to know that she wouldn't ever do anything to intentionally jeopardize the group, and that was enough for him.

Whether this thing was meant to be or just a temporary hormonal thing, J.D still didn't know. He didn't over-think anything to do with relationships; to him emotion wasn't exactly something that could be explained. It was just _there,_ and why bother making an issue out of it?

Hopefully it would last for awhile. Maybe they'd leave the Hive, and, despite all the odds, him and Olivia could find someplace to settle down once this had all blown over.

And maybe it wouldn't work out. Maybe this was just some fling that'd last the entirety of their stay down here, and then burn out again.

Whatever the case, J.D just hoped that Michael, and Olivia herself, kept quiet about it.

And hopefully, this whole thing wouldn't blow up in his face.

y

Rain was quiet, pensive as they waited back by the seats in the middle of the aisle while Matt and Alice went about forcing the door open. Her face was absent of emotion, an uncommon expression on her, and Michael waited a few minutes before finally venturing forward with a simple, "Rain?"

She turned to look at him, clearly still thinking about something else. "Yeah?"

He paused, then shrugged. "What's up?"

The apparent stupidity of the question appeared to wake her out of her stupor and she grinned at him. "What's _up_, Michael?"

He smiled. "Yeah."

"Well, see," she began with exaggerated patience. "Alice and Matt are going to get the mean door open so we can go inside and look for… something to do with the anti-virus."

He nodded. "Oh."

She looked sharply at him. "So what did you want to ask?"

He felt surprised for a moment, but then realized that, despite her at times impulsive attitude, Rain could be particularly observant. She rarely bothered to do so, and even when she did wasn't quite as observant as either Matt or Alice or even J.D; but then, Michael wasn't exactly good at hiding his emotions or intentions either.

He shrugged. "You've just been quiet lately," he pointed out simply.

She looked at him shrewdly, as if debating whether she should confess what was bothering her or not. Apparently deciding that he was trustworthy, she just shrugged and said, "I just don't trust Olivia. And everyone has gotten way too close to her to be normal."

He smiled softly. "Everyone, or just J.D?"

Rain's expression was murderous as she snapped, "Does it matter?"

Michael laughed, stepping back and lifting his hands in a classical gesture of surrender. "Sorry."

She shrugged, then smiled abashedly at him. "Maybe. I just wonder what other information she might be hiding from us."

Matt called them over then, him and Alice having apparently succeeded in their efforts with the door, and Rain hurried off, Michael following closely behind.

It was obvious that Rain was upset about J.D and Olivia's closeness, never mind not knowing about any actual relationship. And contrary to most people's opinions, it wasn't jealousy—she was obviously worried about J.D, and the effect Olivia might have on his judgment.

Michael could relate. Olivia seemed sweet, nice, and intelligent; but they'd only known her for two days. Hardly enough time to adequately judge someone's character.

_But_, he mused, as he stopped next to the three of them, poised and ready to enter the control room, _there's time for that later._

Right now he needed to concentrate on what they were here to do.

Matt kicked the door in and they filed through, walking in standard positions with Alice leading, Michael following behind Matt and Rain bringing up the rear. Each held their gun at the ready, straining their ears for sound as they scanned the small room they were in anxiously.

It was dimly lit, but clear all the same that it was empty. With a bare, concrete floor and file-laden shelves lining each wall, the focus of the room fell upon the light, steel-framed staircase set into the far corner of the back wall.

Alice begin to step forward, the others following instantaneously—

And then stopped, just as suddenly, as Alice held up a hand. Straining his ears, Michael listened for what she had obviously already heard—

A steady creaking sound from the top of the stairs, coupled with a series of clicking noises.

Listening closely, Michael realized it wasn't a simple tapping of claws or even a vocal sound, but—

"A keyboard," he whispered.

Matt glanced at him and Alice looked back, her face grim.

"Somebody's up there."

They glanced around at one another once more, each person readying his or her respective weapon—

And then they hit the stairs running, moving for the element of surprise against an unknown attacker, filing out immediately when they'd reached the top.

Michael couldn't help the sound of disgust when he located the source of the noise.

Zombies lay out across the floor, bloodied, obviously shot and disfigured; except, of course, for the one remaining zombie sitting chained to a high leather chair.

It's eyes red and unfocused, it moaned hungrily when it saw them standing there, fresh meat after God knew how long, lifting it's hands from the keyboard and reaching out in a vain attempt to reach them—

And sagged as the bullet entered it's head, it's hands falling uselessly to it's side.

Michael glanced at Rain, who flicked the safety back onto her gun, her expression disgusted. "Who the fuck would chain something up like that?"

"This guy was still alive when he was chained up," Alice said softly, looking pained. "He was fed to the rest, and then whoever chained him up shot them."

Silence permeated the room, and Matt broke it, asking stoically, "Umbrella?"

Alice nodded. "Almost definitely."

She shook her head, as if coming out of a trance, and pointed to the basement. "Michael, Rain, go check the files downstairs; Matt and I will take care of the ones up here."

A smirk played across Rain's face and Alice caught it almost instantly, giving her an exasperated grin. "Rain."

She shrugged. "I'm not saying anything," she said lightly.

Matt snorted, and she grinned at him before turning and walking down the steps. Michael took one last look at the room around them, a psychotic mix of blood and gore and expensive electrical machinery, and left.

y

Past the mess of advertisements and commercials bundled into boxes set underneath the computer counsels, the top room was nearly empty.

Matt had managed to find one single box of media files, unmarked and unlabelled, which he'd dragged over to the desk where they both sat, plugging movie after movie into the machine and watching as it was splayed across the screen.

The film projector Umbrella used was top of the line, but simple to use; Matt, with an array of previous jobs requiring machinery work, had it running in less than five minutes.

Unfortunately, the files they'd found were relatively useless.

Matt wrapped his arm around Alice's waist, and she glanced at him, smiling softly. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah." Smiling bashfully at her, he added, "Just bored."

She laughed. "Well, there's not much to do," she said teasingly. "Unless you find Umbrella's board meetings fascinating."

He smiled at her, wishing he knew what to say, wishing he knew what to do to keep everything still working. Alice was the only bright spot in this miserable situation they'd fallen into, thanks to Umbrella; and he still found himself unsure around her sometimes.

Alice was undoubtedly upset about last night, and worried about him; but Matt knew she'd only worry more if he tried to focus all of his attention on her.

It bothered her, he knew, that she couldn't simply erase the effects the virus had already taken on his system.

"Hey," she said suddenly, "Pause this."

He did as she asked, pressing down on the pause button.

An image of a board meeting filled the screen, and Alice gestured to one of the men seated at the table. "See him?"

Matt nodded, and she smiled triumphantly. "There's Archangelo. Olivia's unwanted contact and employer."

He took the words in, staring closely at the screen and the man she'd gestured to. Sitting attentively, his posture confident, he was an attractive man, with blond hair and blue eyes; a male version of Alice, even.

The only difference between the two was the smug, arrogant smile on the man's face and his obvious disdain as he watched over the proceedings of the meeting.

"They're discussing the incident with the mansion," Alice said flatly. "More specifically, us."

Matt stared at her, surprised, and slightly embarrassed at having apparently missed so much. "What, exactly?"

She shrugged. "Everything. You, the hidden rooms, Kaplan—"

Her voice broke only slightly on his name, and she hurried forward, forcing a painfully fake smirk onto her face. "We're all apparently 'hamsters' to him."

Matt nodded thoughtfully, glancing back at her. "He probably knows about the trip down here, if he's been talking to Olivia."

"Which means he's probably been watching us," Alice said grimly, her focus returning to the screen.

Matt hit the play button without a word, both of them watching intently as the meeting filled the screen again.

Matt's perception of Archangelo didn't change as the man's face filled the screen; if anything, his dislike increased.

"Mr. Addison's mutation has been so far kept at bay; it's uncertain right now whether any of them have detected it this far in. No plans seem to have been made over the past few days, and it's uncertain how long they'll be there," a nervous-looking man, probably a secretary or lab assistant of some kind was explaining.

Archangelo interrupted, his expression disdainful. "And has any information been leaked regarding the anti-virus?"

The man nodded. "It's still being kept in the labs down in the Hive, with top computer security."

Alice and Matt exchanged a look, Matt wordlessly turning up the volume as Archangelo continued with another question.

"And with the Red Queen disabled?"

"Still well protected," the man answered. "It's being kept in one of the basement labs, password 7-6-8-3-9-7."

"And the room number?" Archangelo asked, voice arrogant, his expression one of boredom.

The man flushed, Matt and Alice leaning further forward to hear his answer.

"Room—"

The video shorted out.

Matt shared a confused glance with Alice, stabbed at the controls uselessly—

And the video slid out of the machine, the tape tangled up around it.

"God damn it!" Alice exclaimed violently, standing abruptly and turning away from Matt.

He stumbled to his feet, surprised at her reaction, still shocked at the video's untimely demise. "Alice, don't," he said softly, wrapping his arms around her middle. "It's okay."

She leaned back into him, turning her face away. "No, it's not. We have less than a week left, and we can't even find any decent information—"

"Alice, honey, it doesn't matter," Matt said softly.

The unexpected term of endearment seemed to reach her, and she turned in his arms, pulling back slightly to look at him. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be. I understand."

She exhaled heavily, wrapping her arms around him. "I hate this. I wish none of this had happened, that Umbrella never existed."

Her face was blotchy and red, her eyes teary, and Matt pulled her close without a word.

Rain and Michael appeared at the top of the stairs then, both looking taken aback at the scene in front of them; Rain looked to him inquisitively, and he said quietly over Alice's shoulder, "Go tell J.D and Olivia we're leaving soon." Alice tensed briefly against him, obviously embarrassed before relaxing again as if realizing the futility of trying to hide

anything from Rain or Michael.

Rain nodded, turning and heading back downstairs. Michael waited a moment, looking decidedly awkward, before lifting a file and waving it questioningly at Matt. "We, uh, found a file."

Alice pulled away from him then, and he kissed her lightly on the forward. She gave him a brief smile, before turning to look at Michael. "Let me see."

He hurried over, and Matt came in close as well, looking over her shoulder as she flipped through it. "Anything useful?"

Alice smiled. "Codes to every single lab in this forsaken building." She grinned at Michael. "Nice job."

Michael beamed. "Glad to help," he said sincerely. "I'll, uh, go check on Rain."

He hurried down the stairs, and Matt glanced sideways at Alice, who stood clutching the papers as if they were a lifeline to her. "Are you okay?"

She turned and smiled at him, looking beautiful despite the red rimming her eyes.

"Yeah," she said softly.

And Matt smiled, hearing the sincerity in her voice.

y

Rain hurried down the stairs, wondering what Alice had seemed upset about, what newfound information they'd both heard.

Hopefully nothing serious. And the way Alice was lately, the slightest thing could set her off.

Not that Rain blamed her. It was hard, what she and Matt were going through. Matt was the one mutating, and yet sometimes Rain thought it was even harder on Alice than it was on him.

She opened the door quietly, still lost in thought over Matt and Alice. It wasn't like her to be so wrapped up in the lives of everyone around her, and it was stressing her out. She cared about Matt, about J.D, about everyone, and she certainly didn't want to lose Matt to Umbrella's fucking experiments.

But all the same, she wasn't used to being the slightly interfering, but caringly observant character. That was Alice, not her.

Rain scowled. And anyway, she had enough to worry about, with her distrust of Olivia coupled with worry for Matt.

She rounded the corner, opened her mouth to tell J.D and Olivia to clear the fuck out so they could get out of here, where Umbrella's oppressive stigma seemed to hang over everything—

And stopped dead, her mouth still open but no words coming out.

J.D and Olivia weren't guarding. Fuck, J.D and Olivia weren't even holding onto their weapons anymore.

Instead they were plastered against the wall, in the process of heavily making out, Olivia's hands under the back of J.D's shirt and J.D's hands pretty much everywhere.

For a moment Rain just stared, not knowing what to do. She wanted to explode, to demand an explanation—

But she couldn't. She just stood there, staring at them.

After what seemed an eternity, J.D pulled back, and Olivia, glancing over his shoulder, caught sight of Rain. She stiffened, and J.D pulled back immediately, whipping around to look behind him.

When he saw her standing there he paled considerably. "Rain."

He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, and yet she couldn't. She just stood there, staring.

"Rain, I, uh—"

She realized suddenly, that she was waiting for an explanation that would never come.

J.D and Olivia were together. End of story.

And he'd lied to her.

"Whatever." She halted his next words, her own voice surprising even her. "Fuck, J.D, I just—I don't care."

"Rain," he started, and then trailed off, looking at her desperately as if realizing that there was nothing to say anymore while Olivia stood behind him, looking everywhere but at the scene in front of her.

Rain just stared at him. Took in every aspect of his face, from the guilt in his eyes to the desperation in his demeanor.

It wasn't enough, and she turned and walked away.

A/N: And voila, the end to the seventh chapter :) I'm hoping for another second Friday update on January 28th; I do, however, have finals that week though, so that might interfere. I doubt it, but just thought I'd warn you :)

Again, sorry for the late update, and reviews would be lovely :)


	8. Chapter Eight: Fire and Ice

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: Consider the lacking amount of people _using_ the characters out there, I should own them. But I don't. So don't sue :)

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Sorry again for the late update! This chapter is a little dialogue heavy, which may be good or bad for you; but there will be more action in the next chapter, definitely.

Thanks again to those who have reviewed Into the Light thus far, particularly for chapter seven: Darkness Amber, rain1657, FREAKSHOW1, Faded Writer, XMaster, Susan LeGrow, Gabzilla, kk, and Nikolai Burnside. Please again remember to leave your emails with your reviews so I can thank you for them and answer any questions you have. Thanks goes out also to all those who read and don't review, even though I beg you—continuously—to do so. It's still very appreciated.

To XMaster: I'm terribly sorry, but I'm going to be upfront and tell you that Kaplan is, pretty much without a doubt, not coming back. Spence killed him in Fading Away, and there's not really anything I can do to realistically bring him back into the story. I hope that you keep reading regardless, and hopefully Kaplan's heroic death was at least an acceptable one for him :)

Also, I'm trying something new for spaces today :) I saw it on a CSI fanfiction and it looked pretty, so hopefully it works!

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Eight: Fire And Ice

It was eleven o'clock pm, and night had fallen upon the denizens inside the Hive.

Not, of course, that any of them could tell, what with being underground and everything.

Their environment was calm, though—shockingly so, considering where they were. They'd returned from the chaotic scene at the theatre to the same room they'd been in before, where they all were now.

Overall, the scene was calm as well. Matt, Alice, Michael and Olivia sat together at the room's only table, seated on rickety chairs and crates. A handful of files, containing all the important papers they'd found so far, were scattered across the table in front of them as they discussed their contents quietly.

J.D couldn't help but notice that they were all careful to keep the specifics vague for Olivia's benefit. Obviously, they were still expecting a confession from her.

He wondered if she'd talk to Alice. He hoped she would. It would help, not only with relieving Alice's suspicions of Olivia's involvement in their search for Matt's anti-virus, but also with benefiting her relations in the group.

She'd need it, after the scene with Rain that afternoon.

J.D bit back a scowl. Part of him had hoped Rain would, in her classically explosive way, let the information of their relationship slip to the rest of the group.

He'd been surprised to realize she didn't need to. Matt, Alice—both of them had evidently all ready found out on their own.

In fact, the only person who hadn't realized what was going on was Rain.

J.D glanced at her, sitting in the observation room alone, and sighed.

As soon as they'd returned, Alice had made up some lame excuse for giving him and Rain assignments separate from the rest of the group's recon mission. And when Rain had turned her back, Alice had shot him a look that clearly stated he owed her an explanation.

J.D smirked. Whatever the case, it was nice to see that Alice hadn't been stressed to the point of completely relinquishing her role as the mother figure in the group yet.

But then, she didn't know Rain as well as he did. She had no idea how difficult the girl could be when she was actually angry and not just irritable about something.

No, when Alice and Matt had a problem, they sat down and _talked_ about it.

Rain, though… J.D had expected an explosion from her. In fact, he'd hoped for one—if it meant a screaming match, so be it. At least the entire fucking fiasco would have been over and done with then. That's just how their fights, even their minor arguments worked. One of them would do something stupid, the other would complain, and a shouting match would erupt. After a few well-aimed insults and arguments, they'd make up again, generally with a kinder, funnier but equally well-placed insult.

This time she'd been silent and stand-offish instead, refusing to speak to J.D and ignoring the others.

She was obviously a lot more upset than he'd expected her to be. She'd blow up eventually, yeah—but unfortunately, he had no idea how to deal with her anger in the intermission between.

J.D sighed. Whatever the case, he needed to talk to her. The idea was a terrifying one, but Rain—Rain was important to him. Like a best friend, or a little sister. He had no idea why she was as mad as she was, but he still owed her an explanation. And an apology.

Saying a silent prayer—J.D wasn't religious, but he figured it couldn't hurt—he opened the door and walked in.

Rain sat in the far corner of the room, the file holding the Hive's passwords in her right hand, a red pen in her left. As he watched she marked them dutifully, grouping them according to placement and tossing them into small piles around her.

She didn't look up when he closed the door, or when he walked across the white floor and sat in front of her.

"Rain," he said, his voice coming out more hoarsely than he'd expected it to. "I'm sorry."

She ignored him. J.D watched in tired exasperation as she scribbled 'Lab, division A' across the top of a page and dropped it onto a pile beside her.

Finally, irritation won out. "Rain, we need to talk about this."

Another three papers joined the first.

He sighed, tried again. "Rain—"

"Fuck off, J.D."

Her voice was low, and barely audible, but he could hear the restrained anger in it. He stared at her, unsure of what to do.

She finally looked up at him, her eyes showing a mess of emotions as she met his glance. Her voice tired, she said, "Look, J.D, I don't care. Okay?"

At his continued silence, she looked up again. "So fuck off," she reminded him.

She returned to her papers.

Finally realizing that his presence was pointless, J.D stood. Rain was obviously lying, but it was just as clear by the stubborn set of her jaw that she wasn't willing to divulge any further.

As he left the room, closing the door behind him, he caught Alice's eye. She looked partially curious, but worried as well, and he shook his head.

The answering expression in her eyes brought more guilt crashing down upon him. They both knew the repercussions of this now. Like civil war, any conflict between Rain and J.D was only going to make their ultimate destination more difficult to reach.

In her eyes was a question, too, a question the whole group including Olivia herself probably wondered at the answer to: was he going to continue… seeing her, if it could even be called that?

J.D didn't know. Either way, it didn't matter, not now.

Because the answering expression in her eyes only confirmed what he already knew.

It was going to take a lot more than an apology to get himself out of this one.

**xxxxx**

J.D looked away, and Alice refocused on the task at hand.

They'd been going over possible exits and entrances from the Hive for a few minutes, but nothing had been found; everything had, according to Olivia's information from Archangelo, been efficiently sealed off already.

Alice wasn't exactly sure what the plan was now. Whether they'd stay here as long as they had to, searching for a way out, or make an attempt at negotiations with Archangelo.

Neither possibility was one she looked forward to; but then, Alice didn't particularly care how they got out now. They had enough provisions, enough ammunition to last them at least a few weeks in here, if not more than a month.

Matt, on the other hand, had less than a week left. Four days left, not counting today; which, given that it was pretty much over, was meaningless.

Alice had no idea what they were planning to do, which labs to infiltrate, nothing. Archangelo certainly hadn't given them any information to work with in his little video, and Alice couldn't even _understand_ the documents they'd found.

She smiled slightly. Luckily, they had Michael and Olivia. Those two were nearly halfway through the first half of the pile they'd found already, and moving quickly.

Olivia Alderic, in short, was actually a nice woman. An asset to the team, definitely, but kind and seemingly trustworthy so far as well. The only evidence they'd had to dispute that theory—Olivia's eavesdropping discovery of Matt's infection—had already been explained to J.D, and both he and the rest of the group could understand her reasons.

Unfortunately, after the Rain/J.D/Olivia fiasco, her relations within the group were going to plummet, and the entire group knew it. It was unfair, definitely—but they all stuck together as a group. That was just the way it was.

And Rain, in particular, had an almost vulnerable nature about her that the entire group often felt protective over her for. It wasn't that she was the youngest—they were all in their early twenties anyway—nor because she was _childish_ in anyway—

Alice smiled despite herself. Childish was probably the wrong word to use. While generally mature and semi-reasonable, Rain also had an immature aspect to her that she didn't mind exploiting occasionally. Her silent treatment of J.D was a classic example of this nature.

What was different about Rain was that she never wanted to admit that she could be vulnerable. All of them were difficult at times, but in the same way, they were always willing to break down, to talk to someone.

Rain, on the other hand, kept up a constant wave of denial when faced with the accusation of being upset about something—and when pressured, blew up at the person in topic.

It was because of that stubbornness, ironically enough, that they all watched over her so closely.

And unfortunately, that meant that Olivia, for the most part, was going to be treated as the bad figure in all of this. J.D would get his fair share too, of course, but he was more deserving of it.

Alice wished he hadn't lied to Rain. Having a relationship was fine. It would make things difficult, but J.D deserved it, just like the rest of them did. And Rain no doubt would have needed time to adjust to it, but at least everything would have been out in the open.

The funny thing was, as dense as some guys could be, J.D was generally pretty adapt when dealing with Rain—except for the fact that he could never understand why she was upset when it went further than simple irritation.

Like this, for example. Rain was understandably angry about J.D's lying to her, but he was too caught up in worrying that she was only angry with his "fraternizing with the enemy" to bother thinking about that.

Matt shifted next to her slightly, obviously bored, and she smiled. They'd been sitting here for more than half an hour now, listening politely as Michael and Olivia attempted vainly to explain the contents of the files to them.

In terms of emotion… Alice was nothing like Rain. They were both, in a matter of speaking, sentimental; but while Rain could hold hers in, keeping hers hidden was a task Alice found impossible.

She kept breaking down in front of Matt, and she hated it. It was nice to be able to let everything down in front of him, to be completely and utterly honest; but in a way, she felt it was unfair to Matt.

Matt was the one mutating, not her; and except for that night, the first time he'd found out about it, he'd shown almost no outward emotion about what was going on. When she'd tried to speak to him about the incident last night, he'd passed it off.

Whether he was unwilling to talk about it or trying to avoid reliving it, Alice didn't know. But what she did know was that part of the reason he refused to talk about it was because he was trying to protect her from the facts.

Matt nudged her slightly, and she glanced at him in surprise. He smiled at her, the expression in his eyes amused, and she realized Michael and Olivia had been telling them something important—something that she'd completely and utterly tuned out accidentally.

She flashed them both a slightly embarrassed smile, though their expressions were both understanding. "Sorry. You were saying?"

Michael grinned. "Well, now that you're listening," he said, his tone gently teasing, "We've narrowed it down to three labs to search."

He pushed a map across the table to her, indicating the labs he'd highlighted. She glanced at them briefly, then looked back up at him, a smile on her face. "So what's so special about them?"

"They're the only ones dealing with biological experimentation that happen to be locked and guarded with top-rate security systems," Olivia cut in, a small smile on her face.

Alice raised an eyebrow. "And the rest of Umbrella's locks are cheap?"

Olivia laughed, and Alice marveled despite herself how comfortable she seemed in the group already. Michael, in direct conflict to her easy assimilation, had taken weeks to confer so easily. "Most of Umbrella's locks are just technologically controlled with security systems. These ones have an employee check and probably 'surprises' inside as well."

Matt glanced at her. "Surprises?"

"Traps," she clarified. "Things an employee would know to bypass."

"Do you know?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"No. I'm in the database, but I'm not technically allowed to work in there on my own."

Matt nodded. "So we're pretty much on our own."

Olivia nodded, a small smile still on her face, and Matt shook his head in disbelief.

"Sounds fun," Alice said wryly. "Not for tonight though." She stood with those words, watching as the rest of them stood up around her. "Everyone should get some sleep, relax tonight. We'll go tomorrow."

The three of them nodded, and Michael asked, "Who's guarding with me tonight?"

"Rain."

"Rain?" Matt repeated, glancing at Alice in disbelief. "She should be sleeping, shouldn't she? She was just up last night with me."

Alice smiled wryly at him. "Try explaining that to her."

He grinned at her, acknowledging the truth of her statement as Michael left to find Rain and Olivia, after an awkward moment, wandered off to see J.D.

Alice watched as she grabbed his hand, her expression serious against his tired one, and pulled him to the far corner of the room.

Whatever conversation those two planned to have, it certainly wasn't going to be a fun one.

**xxxxx**

J.D's expression was surprised, and, Olivia couldn't help but note, slightly embarrassed as she pulled him to the far side of the room. As if he were suddenly shy now that the group knew about them.

_Or ashamed,_ she thought pessimistically.

Olivia battled back the hurt commingled with anger the thought brought about and focused on the situation at hand.

"What's going on"

J.D looked at her, seeming surprised at the question. "What do you mean"

"With you and Rain" she clarified. _And us,_ she added silently in her head.

She hated the idea of playing the classic foreign seductress, of splitting up the group in an attempt to keep a relationship with J.D. Her own moral character was against it, and besides, despite having known them for a grand total of three days, Olivia was smart enough to know that these were good people. Working with Umbrella had taught her effectively how to see past the images people so easily projected, and nobody in this group seemed anything but sincere so far.

But what she hated more was the strain between her and J.D that had developed instantly after Rain had walked in on them. The whole relationship had begun in the heat of the moment—but still. Olivia had been sure there had been something between them, that it wasn't just some spur-of-the-moment fling.

Now she wasn't so sure. She'd backed off, given J.D some time to sort things out with the group; he was close to them, and she figured he'd need it. For three hours she'd kept herself far from J.D, allowing him to try and work things out, and for three hours he steadily avoided bothering to tell her anything.

As, apparently, he meant to now.

"Look, Olivia, this isn't really something I can talk to you about—"

"Well, you're going to have to" she said firmly.

His expression was one of slight irritation as he looked back at her, and she softened her tone. "Look, J.D… I care about you. And if there's something going on with Rain, if there's any reason you want to put this off, that's fine. But you need to let me know what's going on."

His expression was still irritated as he glanced at her; but seeing the worry in her eyes, he softened visibly. Though still exasperated, he smiled as he asked rhetorically"Why are all the women in my life so goddamn stubborn"

Olivia wondered for a moment whether he was referring to her and Rain, her and Alice, or all three of them before he continued.

"I care about you, Olivia. But Rain… she's important to me, and I need to work this out with her right now."

She nodded. "The group's okay with it, though"

J.D shrugged. "They're madder at me than they are at you" he admitted, an easy smile lighting up his face. "Rain's just… possessive."

Olivia raised an eyebrow, flashing him a teasing smile. "Possessive"

He shrugged. "I do the same thing to her" he admitted. "Comes with the territory."

She nodded, biting her lower lip. Part of her wanted to smile and walk away, pretend the problem was solved—but like it or not, there was something more she needed to say.

"J.D, if there's something between you and Rain… you should work that out first. Before we go any further."

His expression was one of slight confusion, and she sighed inwardly, wishing for the first time that she was talking to another girl instead of a guy. Alice and Rain herself would have understood her implied meaning instantly.

"I mean, if there's any romantic bond between you two" she clarified, somewhat belatedly.

J.D's look of confusion only deepened slightly before he started to laugh. "Romantic"

She nodded, and he seemed to realize suddenly that she was serious. His expression softened, only a touch of amusement remaining in his dark eyes as he said"Olivia, me and Rain are friends. Nothing more."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty protective of her" she pointed out. "And you both obviously care a lot about each other."

He shrugged. "Close friends" he said simply. "So"

She nodded, thoughtfully. He seemed sure, but—"J.D, have you ever thought about the possibility that she might want more than just friendship" she asked gently, scanning his face for any sign of reaction.

Total silence followed. Finally J.D asked, looking confused—again—"Why would you think that"

She shrugged. "Like you said, you two are close."

He nodded. "Yeah, we are. But Olivia, Rain is—intense. She doesn't do casual relationships."

Olivia nodded. Striving for a tone of mild curiosity, she asked"So how many relationships has she had in the past few years"

J.D shrugged, the expression on his face going from exasperated to slightly annoyed. "A few. Nothing serious. Why"

"Why haven't they been serious" she pressed.

"Enough" he said shortly. "Look, Olivia, I'm sorry. But there's nothing between me and Rain, and this is her life, not mine."

She nodded, feeling ashamed, but still determined to make her point. "I know. I'm sorry. But J.D—"

A loud sigh interrupted her; glancing at him, he seemed exasperated but willing to listen, so she continued.

"She was the only one who didn't find out about us."

J.D looked confused again. "Look, I'm not the most… feminine guy around. Why exactly would that indicate something more"

She shrugged. "Maybe she didn't want to believe it" she pointed out. "I mean, if she wanted more—or thought there already was more—between you two, wouldn't she have figured you wouldn't… be with anyone else"

Her sentences had long since lost their simple eloquence, replaced instead by halting hesitations and stutters, a simple sign of nervousness.

J.D didn't seem to notice as he shook his head, taking her hands in his. "Olivia" he began, looking straight at her. "Look. Me and Rain are friends, nothing more. I promise."

He kissed her gently on the mouth, pulling back slightly to add"But I need to work this out with her. Okay"

Olivia nodded, forcing a small smile as he squeezed her hands, smiled at her one last time, and left.

She wished she could believe J.D's words. He'd been confidant about his opinions, had said all the right things—but still. Something she'd said had hit home with J.D, and she'd seen the brief flicker of doubt in his eyes when he'd left.

Olivia sighed. She didn't know Rain. She barely even knew J.D yet. Besides the circumstantial evidence, there was no real reason to believe there was something more between the two.

But even as her logical mindset forced her to move on, pulling out her sleeping bag and laying it carefully next to J.D's, her heart told her otherwise.

Rain loved J.D.

**xxxxx**

"I fucking hate J.D" Rain intoned dully.

Michael glanced at her from his position below her. Rain sat on the table, her back against the wall, toying with the gun in her hands and staring at the ceiling.

Casually, unable to help himself, he asked"Have you been drinking or something, Rain"

Even as the words came out, he realized the possibility of it was nearly non-existent; but Rain had been uncharacteristically stoical all night, and he had to ask.

Rain snorted. "I wish" she said wistfully, her gaze never leaving the ceiling.

Like now, for example. Despite Alice's insistent warnings against even mentioning J.D to Rain, Michael had been quizzing her about it all night, to no avail.

Finally stumbling upon a topic practically guaranteed to get a reaction from Rain, Michael smiled. "What about Olivia"

Rain only shrugged. "What about her"

That answer, more than any of the others combined, surprised him. "You're not angry at her"

Rain wrinkled her nose. "Why should I be"

Michael glanced at her, unsure of how to answer the obviously rhetorical question. "That's a lot of foresight for, uh—"

"Me" she finished, grinning at him. "Well, she wasn't the one who lied to me."

The obvious hurt, hidden beneath layers of annoyance and forced bravado, was clear in her last words and Michael sighed. "Rain, maybe you and J.D should talk about this—"

She glanced at him, her expression one of distinct annoyance. "Look, Michael, don't play fucking therapist, okay? I don't care what J.D does. I'm not his mother."

"You're his best friend" he pointed out quietly.

She huffed her own sigh of annoyance. "Michael."

Her tone was one of warning, and Michael backed off slightly, realizing she wasn't going to say anything more. "Sorry."

"Whatever" she said easily, closing her eyes briefly. "But if you don't watch it, I'm going to start calling you 'Mikey'."

"Mikey" he echoed, glancing at her.

She nodded. "One of my foster brothers. He hated it."

He laughed, and she smiled at him. The smile didn't hide the visibly tired expression in her eyes, and he said"You should be sleeping."

If she was surprised by the sudden change of topic, she didn't show it. Instead she shrugged. "J.D and Olivia are already shacking up, and Alice wants Matt to stay out of this after what happened last night."

Michael nodded, understanding the reasoning behind her words. "Make J.D and Olivia do it then."

She snorted. "Yeah, right. Because that's what they would do all night. Guard."

He grinned. "Do they really need to do anything? I mean, the door is reinforced steel."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Obviously you haven't seen some of Umbrella's freaky pets."

He nodded slowly. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that." She turned to look fully at him, and he hesitated only once before asking"Where are all the monsters? How come, since we've arrived, we've seen almost nothing"

She was uncharacteristically silent for a moment. Finally she looked at him, her eyes dark, and said"Maybe Umbrella's saving them. For us."

She looked like she was thinking back on something, and he nodded. "Maybe we should talk to Olivia about it."

She smirked. "You mean, maybe you should."

He raised an eyebrow at her, smiling. "I thought you didn't care about Olivia."

"I don't" she drawled slowly, grinning now. "Doesn't mean I want to talk to her."

He snorted, despite himself, and she laughed. "Don't worry Michael, I think you can handle it."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, during which Rain continued to toy with her MP-5 and Michael scanned the room.

Finally, more to satiate his own curiosity than anything else, he asked"So what was it like? Working with Umbrella, I mean.

Looking surprised by the question, Rain shrugged. "Secretive. It wasn't bad at first—stupid lab break ins, shit like that. In and out again. We didn't say anything about it, and we got paid a lot of money for it."

She paused, her eyes straining as she thought back. "We didn't really figure out what was going on 'till the Hive incident, and that's when everything got fucked up anyway."

He nodded solemnly. "You never wondered why they were so secretive"

She shrugged again. "Well, yeah, we wondered. But at the time, we figured Umbrella was just trafficking illegal pharmaceutical drugs over the border or something stupid like that."

Michael didn't even bother questioning her meaning of we—she obviously meant her and J.D, possibly Alice as well—before asking"Any regrets"

She shook her head. "Not really. I mean—" she hesitated for a moment, then continued. "I mean, it sucked what Umbrella was doing. But it's not like we knew. All I wish now is that we'd figured something out that we could actually use to help Matt."

Michael nodded again, surprised at the obvious worry that flashed across her face when she thought about Matt. He supposed her and Matt were probably close, considering the situation the two of them and Alice had been thrown into down here months earlier; but Rain, being Rain, had never really shown any outward sign of worry like the rest of the group had.

Seeing him mutate though, even if only briefly—that had to have been painful. And her and Alice's arguments moments later couldn't have helped the issue.

Softly, and—realizing she might become defensive if he showed any signs of trying to make her admit any emotion—nonchalantly, he asked"Are you worried? About Matt, I mean."

She nodded. "Yeah" she admitted. "Not as much as Alice, though."

As if on cue, the two of them both turned to where Matt and Alice slept on the floor, inches apart from one another. While Matt's expression was peaceful, if exhausted, Alice's showed a strain that hadn't been there last night.

"I just hope we find something" Rain said quietly. "In the labs tomorrow."

He nodded. "We still have five days left" he pointed out, trying to dredge up an optimism he couldn't find in him.

As far as things went, it was possible. If Olivia's information was correct, the odds of the lab they planned to infiltrate the next day being the one they were looking for were high.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. The lab was guarded, protected, whether by simple mutations or more technologically advanced systems.

Whether they found the anti-virus wouldn't matter if they were all dead by then.

And if the lab was the wrong one… they were back to square one.

**xxx End** **xxx**

Thanks again to all those reading; the next udpate will be two weeks from now, on February 18th, 2005.


	9. Chapter Nine: Distortion

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: Consider the lacking amount of people _using_ the characters out there, I should own them. But I don't. So don't sue :)

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Sorry again for the late update! This chapter is a little action heavy, lol. A lot, actually. There will be a balance stricken next chapter, I promise!

Thanks again to those who have reviewed Into the Light thus far, particularly for chapter eight: The Seventh Angel, Nikolai Burnside, XMaster, masked-in-your-shadows, rain1657, Serpentia, Gabzilla, Isinha, Faded Writer, and Kagii. Please again remember to leave your emails with your reviews so I can thank you for them and answer any questions you have. Thanks goes out also to all those who read and don't review, even though I beg you—continuously—to do so. It's still very appreciated.

Also, sorry for my punctuation last chapter. I am getting so sick of fanfiction. net, which constantly seems to "edit" my writing and, in doing so, makes me appear illiterate. ;)

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Nine: Distortion

For the first time since this entire endeavor had begun, Olivia was nervous.

They were walking down the corridor along the bio labs now, each person carrying his or her own weapon, and as Olivia walked silently, two steps behind J.D and four before Rain, she had finally realized how nervous she was.

It wasn't a fear of what they might come up against, or even worry over the situation with J.D and Rain. Instead, it was a worry of whether or not she'd be able to hold up her own end of the team.

It wasn't something Olivia was used to. She'd barely worked down here—only for a couple of months at most—before being promoted to the top at Raccoon City's aboveground headquarters.

But even then, as she'd strode through these halls, she'd been confident, sure of herself and her abilities. Even when working with Michael on the papers the night before had been a territory familiar to her. She was one of the country's best biologists, and she was well aware of this.

But this—this was completely different. This was weaponry, intrigue, fighting. This was the stuff the games her little cousins had played had consisted of, games that she had thought herself too ladylike to play.

Now, she regretted that mindset. She had a gun, she had a grenade, she had everything the rest of the team had—minus about a minimum of three years experience.

They had tried to leave her behind, based on that inexperience. One of them had to stay behind to watch over the rest of their things, and it had come down to her or Michael. Both of them were more adept in sciences than weaponry—but while Michael had more firearms experience, she had more knowledge on Umbrella, and she'd used that as a key factor in her argument.

In the end, she had been chosen to come along instead of Michael. Besides one vote, the entire group had been in favor of it.

Olivia frowned slightly. The one vote still bothered her. Having expected a negative vote from Rain, she'd been surprised when the brunette had only shrugged and said, "Talk to Michael".

J.D, on the other hand, had been completely against her coming along.

He wanted to protect her, she knew that. Still, it bothered her that he thought she might be incapable.

_Though,_ she thought silently to herself, as she checked—again—to ensure the safety on her gun was off, _maybe he's right._

She _had _been the only one to know where the hidden doorway was, and she was probably the only person to know half the codes in the lab. But other than that, she was somewhat useless.

Olivia sighed—and then forced herself to straighten, to push away the negative thoughts. They weren't doing any good, and they were almost at the lab.

They all halted as Matt, heading the line, raised a hand; Olivia hurried up to the doorway where he stood, and began typing in the code.

Glancing up briefly, she noted that the walls were all glass, that inside was only a few virus carriers, stumbling around drunkenly.

Her stomach clenched as she realized that the lab they were looking for would have much better security, and wondered briefly if something was waiting inside.

She thought about voicing these concerns to the rest of the group but decided against it; they undoubtedly knew anyway.

She backed off as the doorway whooshed open, letting Matt and J.D hurry inside ahead of her before filling her place inside again and following.

Both men dispatched the first two or three zombies with simple headshots. Taking careful aim, Olivia pressed the trigger on her own handgun as one of the five left began to stumble towards her.

She wasn't prepared for the kick, and her first couple of shots went into the zombie's chest, the third missing completely, flying into the wall behind it.

Feeling herself flush in embarrassment—Olivia knew everything there was to know about shooting a gun, but she'd never actually _tried _it—she raised her gun to shoot again—

And Rain, stepping up beside her, finished it off with one well aimed shot to the head before moving onto the others, Alice finishing off the last of them.

The group ignored her completely as they exchanged slight glances of confusion, before reaching an unspoken agreement and breaking off to look around.

Feeling uncomfortable, all too aware of the silent bond they shared in combat situations, Olivia followed hesitantly.

The lab was a small one, not even fairly equipped. There were no specimen cages, none of the high tech equipment seen in any of the other labs she'd worked in before—it was pretty useless, as far as labs went. A few long tables, along with some basic chemistry equipment found in most high schools, were the only additions to the room.

Still, there could be something more. This was, after all, where all Umbrella's security protocol had been installed, according to the files they'd found.

Seeming to realize Olivia was still standing by the door, J.D turned slightly and flashed her a reassuring smile. She smiled back before forcing her legs into motion, inspecting the table directly in front of her for any hint of useful information.

There was nothing there, and she was starting to feel a sort of dread, wondering if maybe her and Michael had been looking at outdated files, when Alice broke the silence.

"Guys?" Her voice, sudden and almost raspy in the dusty air, brought their focus to her.

"I found another entrance."

Matt hurried over first, Alice backing way so they could all see.

It was simple, crude even, for Umbrella. Alice had pushed away a table to reveal a steady line, only slightly darker than the white walls themselves, tracing a high rectangle into the wall.

Next to the door was a flashing red button.

Matt was closest to the door, and he glanced around the room in question, his finger poised over the button. "Everybody ready?"

A slight rustle passed through the room, and Olivia could visibly _feel_ the tension in the group as they shifted into position. Feeling apprehensive and, again, ridiculously out of place, Olivia did the same.

Matt pressed the button.

Instead of sliding to the side, as they'd all expected, the door whooshed into the ceiling, revealing another, much larger laboratory.

The lights were off, and they walked forward hesitantly, Olivia last into the room—

And a sudden flurry of movement crossed through the room as the lights slammed on, blinding them with it's intensity as the door slammed solidly shut behind her.

Another flash of tension—and then the group relaxed again when nothing happened, fanning out slightly, still standing in the grey tiled entrance just inside the room.

The laboratory they were in was massive, no doubt the one in the diagrams Michael and Olivia had looked over—they were in the right place.

Stepping forward slightly, Olivia looked over the room.

A white, blinding light filled the room, only intensified by the sterile white tiles covering the floor and ceiling.

Directly beside them was a steel doorway, leading to, most likely, another room.

It was a familiar room somehow; the white in the walls was seen in all the rooms in the Hive, but there was something about the hidden doorway they'd entered through that had jogged her memory.

And in front of them, all around them, was a series of glass cubicles, of cages that Olivia was sure she remembered from somewhere.

Olivia had seen a lot of things since joining Umbrella. She'd seen even more after taking the fated trip down here.

And they were all horrible. Inhuman. Terrifying.

But there had always been _something _biologically comforting about them. The zombies had been people in appearance; the animals only more cruel, more dangerous. And that thing they'd run into in the corridors… that reminded Olivia oddly of some invisible comic book villain.

They were all mutations, virus carriers.

But the things in these cages—these were monsters.

Ten of them housed the same mutation, something that looked like a monkey and a spider crossed together. With six legs, glistening, furry bodies and a whip-like black tail, they would undoubtedly have been less threatening if they weren't over three feet tall.

_Or_, she noted quietly, almost methodically as one opened it's mouth in a steady yawn, _if it's fangs weren't the length of my hand._

The last cubicle hosted the worst of the group. Tall, over eight feet, with pebbly black skin, long, sharp claws, and a thick tail.

"It's like those things," Alice said quietly. "The ones Matt found."

"Only bigger," Matt said shortly, his voice grim.

The four of them turned to look at her, J.D asking quietly, "Olivia. Do you know anything about any of these?"

She shrugged. "Not really," she admitted. "The spider monkeys though—I'm willing to bet they're poisonous."

"Great," Rain muttered, glancing back at the cages.

"At least they're inside," Alice said softly. "We should look around, see what else might be in here."

Even as she said it, her voice registered disbelief; besides the cages, the room was empty.

J.D shrugged. "I don't think this is the right room."

Rain sent him a look of pure exasperation. "Well then why the fuck are we here?"

He looked annoyed, opening his mouth to answer as Alice stepped forward onto the white tiles, further into the room.

"Look, Rain, if you—"

That's when the lights went off again.

J.D stopped talking immediately, the whole group drawing more closely together in reaction—

And then the lights, a series of red spotlights, turned on, casting a bloody haze over the room.

Inside the cages, the monsters were awakening.

A child's voice filled the room. "You have one minute to enter in the code."

Less than a foot away, a small tile in the metal door slid down, exposing a keypad.

Alice stared at the door, clearly not seeing it. "The Red Queen."

"I thought you shut that program down," Matt said, his voice hushed. "When—"

He trailed off as Alice gave him a significant look. "Obviously not."

"Sixty seconds begins now."

A small set of beeps replaced her voice, and the group turned to look at her as the things inside the cages begin to emit their own sounds, wheezing laughter and high shrieks filling the room around them.

Olivia looked back at them in panic. She had no idea what the code was, what she was supposed to say—

And then, suddenly, it clicked. She _knew_ this room. She had never been here, but she had seen video images of it, from the reconnaissance she'd done for the doomed trip Archangelo had sent them all on—

They were supposed to have gotten here. This was where they were supposed to have ended up, to distribute the lab samples Archangelo had given them. They'd never made it, but they'd been given a code—

_1541._

The numbers burst suddenly into Olivia's head, and she could have shouted with relief as she hurried past Matt and J.D to the keypad, the quiet voice adding, "Thirty seconds left."

She punched in the code.

A clicking tone filled the room, the beeping stopped.

She let out an audible sigh of relief, feeling the rest of the group relax slightly, as much as was possible when the things inside the cages were still awake, looking out at them—

"The door has been unlocked," the voice said helpfully.

The beeping began again as she added, "Twenty seconds left. Please enter the code."

Olivia turned to look at the group, her expression one of shock. "That should have worked, I don't know why—"

"Try again," Alice urged, her blue eyes wide and desperate. Her and Matt had pulled out their weapons, flanking Rain and J.D as they prepared for what was looking to be inevitable battle.

"Ten seconds."

Olivia did, turning around and punching in the code, her hands shaking—

And the voice said, deceptively, horribly pleasant: "That is the incorrect code."

The glass shattered.

**xxxxx**

Matt only had a moment to think, to plot, to strategize before the monsters leapt from their glass prisons and his mind reverted to a purely reactionary state. He noted blankly the biggest monster, still sleeping like a baby in it's cage, the glass still intact—

And then he was moving, lifting his gun and sending the first of his rounds into the monster leaping at him. It hissed, falling back slightly—

But then it was shrieking again, dashing forward, the bullets bearing little effect.

He glanced around him quickly, realizing the others were all having the same problem—and that both Alice and J.D had begun to shoot for the vulnerable red eyes on the monsters.

Feeling ridiculous for not having thought of something so simple before now, Matt did the same. The thing in front of him fell back again, this time with a measure of finality, and he stepped up, sending the remaining bullets into it's head.

As the monster fell limp and Matt slammed another clip into his gun, he allowed himself a small sigh of relief. Things were bad, but could have definitely been worse, and they were only slightly outnumbered now, at five to ten.

The flash of red across his vision brought his attention back to the scene in front of him and he swiped the back of his hand across his eyes, glazing blearily at the red liquid smudged there.

He felt sick when he realized it was human blood, and even sicker when he felt the first tinges of predatory blood lust overtake the disgust.

Looking to the right he saw Alice, her arm, bearing a formidable wound, pressed close to her side as she used the other to hold her gun. Blood was gathering freely at the surface of the wound, and against his will Matt focused on it, staring at the blood as it began to trickle steadily down her fair skin—

"Matt!"

Alice's shout of warning came to late, and the spider-monkeys were on him.

He didn't know what happened. One moment he was on his back, shielding his face with one arm as he used the other to scramble for a clean shot—

And then, suddenly, the gun was gone and he was standing, strong, powerful—

And he began to fade away, and even though a part of him realized what was going on, he could no longer stop it—Nemesis had already taken over.

**xxxxx**

Matt threw back his head and screamed, a bloody, primal sound. His eyes glowed a vibrant red in the hazy darkness, his face reddening and hardening, becoming almost scaly as he threw one hand out in front of him—

And pulled it back, a bloody, congealed mass which undoubtedly served as the monster's heart squeezing and bursting in his hand.

As the grimy blood splattered across the floor, Alice realized, beyond any reasonable doubt, that she was no longer looking at Matt.

She was staring at Nemesis.

Still shooting blindly before her she scanned the room quickly. J.D and Rain were up against the far wall, at least five monsters converged on them, Olivia slightly behind J.D. There was no way any of them would be able to help her, and she glanced hurriedly for another exit as she dug into her pocket for the loaded syringe Michael had given her.

Irately, she had the bitter wish that he was here instead of Olivia. She had done nothing so far, and Michael at least would know how to help Matt.

The thoughts vanished as she shot another round of bullets into the monster in front of her, not bothering to aim properly, only sending it back.

She heard Rain shout her name and glanced over hurriedly, noting, with an almost detached air, the blood and gore flecked over the brunette.

_I must look the same, if not worse,_ she thought blearily. _We all do._

"The door!" Rain shouted again, gesturing towards the metallic door adjacent to the room's entrance. Another of the monsters leapt at her and she ducked in reaction, it's stomach exploding over her as J.D turned to bullet it.

Alice turned, throwing a quick glance to the door. It was barely ten feet away, they could make it—

She turned to Matt again, preparing the suddenly heavy syringe in her hand—

And then one of the monsters leapt to his shoulder, sinking it's long fangs into his skin.

Matt, Nemesis, howled in rage, ripped the monster from it's skin and hurling it clear across the room, ignoring the sickly green fluid which spurted from the fresh wound.

And then he collapsed.

**xxxxx**

"Matt!" Alice shouted.

J.D spun, saw Matt collapse as Alice ran to him. She shot at the monsters which rushed them almost absentmindedly, barely driving them back far enough to look over Matt.

J.D felt and then saw Rain rush past him like a whirlwind, regrouping with Alice to cover her and Matt as Alice grabbed his arms, struggling to drag him over the floor.

Leaving him to stand and hold his own against roughly five of the tiny—but unfortunately, vicious—monsters.

He was no longer shooting for the eyes or any other vulnerable spots—he didn't have time, and he felt, not for the first time, a twinge of annoyance at Olivia.

She'd been completely useless since the monsters had escaped. She had dropped her gun in a moment of panic upon realizing how useless the bullets were and had spent the last five minutes hidden behind Rain and J.D as they struggled to fight off the fucking

mutants.

Rain had handled it surprisingly well. Despite her newfound ire against J.D, she obviously couldn't care less about Olivia.

As for J.D? He just missed Michael. He was still a rookie, but at least he knew what he was doing.

He bit his lip as he shot another one of the spider-monkeys, hearing a stifled shriek from Olivia behind him. In the corner of his vision he saw Alice slamming the door, Rain hurrying back. She was surrounded instantly, ending up near the center of the enclosure, three converged around her.

A luck shot pegged the monster's eye in front of him and it fell to the floor shrieking as J.D leaned forward to finish it off—

And nearly missed the thing's partner as it leapt at him, Olivia screaming at him to look out.

He ducked hurriedly, feeling the thing fly over him with a whoosh of air, and flinching automatically as it slammed into the class cage behind him, sending more glass to the floor—

And cracking the supple steel bar supporting the cage in two. One of the lengths skittered across the floor, coming to rest directly in front of J.D.

The monster was either dead or unwilling to clamber out of the cage, and J.D turned his attention to the ones in front of him, making a mental tally in his head. Ten monsters, and he'd taken out three, Matt had taken out three, Rain and Alice had both taken out one—

Which left two. One in front of him, the other by Rain. He lifted his gun, squeezed the trigger—

And heard the dry, rasping click of an empty chamber.

He was out of ammo.

He ducked in reflex as the thing flew at him, glancing about him frantically for a weapon as it pulled itself together, running at him again—

And then he focused, suddenly, on the bar in front of him. He lifted it hurriedly, testing the weight of it in his hands—

And then the monster was on him, and he could hear Olivia screaming—

And he whipped around, sending the makeshift sword _through_ the monster's skull, impaling it and driving it into the wall.

It died instantly.

J.D glanced at Rain, who was searching through her pockets, obviously in frantic search for another clip as she backed off slightly from the monster pursuing her, and yanked the bar from the wall, letting the monster collapse limply to the ground. "Rain!"

She glanced over and he threw the bar, watching it fly through the air, the grayish blood still smeared across it shining grotesquely in the red lights—

She caught it easily, and, spinning around, drove it through the monster's midsection.

Sticky green fluid burst from the wound, and the creature let out a whiny, plaintive cry as Rain stepped away from the venom, bringing the bar with her.

The spider-monkey's cry died out gradually, leaving behind an stifling, hesitant silence as Rain looked up at him, both of their expressions anticipatory—

And then Olivia let out an explosive sigh, and they both turned to look at her. She gave them a small smile, opened her mouth to say something—

But she never got a chance to, because the sound of breaking glass filled the room and they all turned again to see the huge mutation step out of it's cage.

**xxxxx**

The syringe was heavy in her palm as Alice gazed at Matt apprehensively where he lay in front of her. Green fluid still gushed freely from his arm, and she wondered what she was supposed to do—whether she should let the venom bleed out of his body, try to cover the wound, or just use the syringe.

She fought down the slight, panicky flutterings of her heart as she gazed down at Matt's closed face, the skin still hard and veined. His closed eyelids were trembling, she realized with an air of resignation. It was now or never.

She prepared the syringe, her shaking hands going through the motions expertly and efficiently before she paused, posing the needle over the vein throbbing in his neck—

And then there was a sudden flash of movement and she froze automatically, staring at his shoulder where the skin had begun to crawl and bubble.

It peeled back slowly, exposing not bone, but a thick frame of steel as the venom spread out slowly and steadily, until all that was pouring forth from the wound was Matt's own dark blood.

Then the skin sealed itself over in less than five seconds, leaving not even a scar as Alice watched in disbelief.

Matt opened his eyes.

Alice stabbed him with the syringe.

It slid cleanly into his vein, and he collapsed as Alice released the trigger. She watched him anxiously as the veins in his face began to automatically recede, his skin color returning to it's normal flushed tone.

She let out a shaky breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and backed up slightly, dropping the empty syringe on the floor next to her. Reaching forward, she used her hands to pull back the material of Matt's shirt, exposing his shoulder.

A tiny white scar existed now, marring once unblemished skin.

Matt had been poisoned. If he hadn't reverted to Nemesis, if he hadn't already passed into Nemesis at the time, he would have been killed.

From the time she had first even suspected Matt being sick in some way, she had never thought she would be thankful for the side effects a virus would bring about in him.

She was now.

His face was quiet, and peaceful as his features gained back their softness and color. Leaning forward, she placed the back of her hand carefully on his forehead, relieved to note that it was significantly cooler.

Sliding her hand off to the side, brushing his hair off his face, she dropped a gentle kiss on his forehead before she stood again, lifting her gun off the floor.

She felt the tiniest twinges of guilt as she stepped across the floor, but pushed them aside impatiently. Matt would be fine here. Safer than they would all be, anyway.

The silence her mind had imposed upon the room when she'd entered had vanished along with the numbing fear for Matt, and she could hear the sounds of shouting and breaking glass outside.

Grabbing the handle, she yanked violently to open the door.

It didn't open.

With a heavy sigh, she holstered her gun, and, using both hands this time, tried again.

Nothing happened.

The door was locked.

**xxxxx**

The monster ignored the shards of glass falling around him as it stood, muscles rippling powerfully, claws long on extended hands, and screamed.

Rain fought the urge to clasp her hands over her ears as she took in the powerful fangs the monster's shout brought into full view and backed up slightly, clasping the bar in her hands, feeling the weight of it.

She remembered Matt's reconstruction of his own run in with the mini-versions of this thing, and she remembered him mentioning they'd been impervious to bullets.

Which, of course, wasn't exactly a fucking problem right now. Her and J.D were both out of ammunition anyway.

But what she couldn't remember was hearing any way they could possibly take this thing out. Nemesis had been forced to rip the things apart in order to kill them, and they were about three times smaller than this thing was.

Still holding the bar in her hand, twisting it in her grip, she realized she didn't have any other options. Distracted by it's own fury, the monster would be easier to take down.

She took a few light, skipping steps forward, bringing the bar up—

And slamming it through his chest in a parallel motion, watching in a sickened disbelief as it pushed clearly through it's body, resurfacing somewhere near what could pass as it's thighs. It slid in easily, like a knife through butter, and she backed off slightly, triumphant in her victory and yet wary of such a simple solution—

A wariness which proved to be incredibly intuitive as the monster reached down, and, with a clawed and gnarled hand, ripped the bar from it's body.

Not out, but _through _his body, and Rain watched in disbelief as the exposed entrails simply hardened, scaled, blackened to become part of it's skin again.

It looked at her, red eyes glowing freakishly bright in the darkness, and she backed away automatically.

The expression in it's eyes was almost one of amusement—_Like a cat playing with a fucking mouse_—and Rain felt distinctly uneasy as she regrouped with J.D, feeling the tension emanating from his body in waves of heat.

"Thoughts?" he asked her, his voice strained.

"I'm thinking we're sort of fucked," she said flatly. "No weapons. Nothing to use on this thing."

The monster took a step forward, and Olivia, still behind them, let out a small shriek of fear. Rain felt a shot of annoyance run through her, and J.D ignored it, him and Rain moving closer automatically as they continued their quiet conversation.

She asked, almost conversationally, "I don't suppose you have a grenade or something, do you?"

He tensed, then, and she would have stolen a glance at him if her every iota of concentration hadn't been fixated on the mutation eight feet away from them. "What?"

"Shit," he breathed quietly. "A grenade. I have one. I fucking had one this entire time, I should have used it."

She shrugged. "No time like the present," she said simply.

"We need a decoy," he continued.

Another scream from the monster brought their attention back to it briefly. The amused look was all but gone from it's eyes, and it looked distinctly pissed, like a child preparing to throw a temper tantrum to gain attention.

They both looked at each other.

And then they looked at Olivia.

Olivia swore quietly as they turned back to face the monster. "You guys, I can't. I'm sorry."

J.D answered, his voice tense, "We don't exactly have a choice, Olivia."

Her voice was pleading as she responded, "J.D, please. I can't—"

"Fine," he said brusquely, cutting her off. "We'll all die then."

There was a strong silence, fraught with tension and anger and fear which filled the room, smothering Rain with it's intensity.

She was still pissed at J.D. But right now, she loved this. They worked well together, both of them. Standing here, feeling a grudging fear and resilient hatred towards the monster menacing them, harboring a not-so-secret annoyance towards Olivia, and feeling the waves of anger and tension emanating of J.D in waves was like revisiting all her past memories. This wasn't exactly some fucking vacation, but in the middle of a battle scene, fighting side to side with J.D, Rain was in her element.

And she loved it.

Olivia was quiet, shaking behind them, and even though Rain hated her for her weakness at that moment, she knew better than to involve herself in it.

The monster took another step forward.

Olivia spoke, her voice breaking slightly. "What am I supposed to do?"

J.D let out an audible sigh of relief, and said quietly, "Just run for the door. It's still open, and Alice is still in there—she'll cover you. So will I, and Rain."

Olivia looked exasperated now as she asked, "Do you really think this thing will actually be stupid enough to go for that?"

Rain, despite herself, couldn't help the smile that slid over her face. In a different situation, she would have been asking J.D that same thing.

Olivia was annoying, but at least she was intelligent.

J.D's tone, as he answered, held the same exasperation it often did when he was talking to Rain. "It's a mutation, Olivia, not a rocket scientist. And it's smart enough to know that you're an easier target."

His voice softened slightly as he added, "You'll be fine."

Rain kept her focus on the thing ahead of them, not trusting J.D to do the same, as they talked. Looking at it's face, she was struck by the wiring bound through it's eyes, flashing red wires she'd failed to notice before now.

When J.D spoke again, his voice was short. "Go."

Olivia broke from behind them, running for the door as J.D and Rain backed to the farthest corner of the lab, J.D pulling the grenade out and pulling the pin as they did so—

The monster leapt for Olivia almost instantly, Olivia skittering to a stop in front of the door barely in time, yanking the handle—

The door opened, and she slid through as the monster slammed into the open door, slamming it shut and rendering an awkward dent through the solid material—

And J.D threw the grenade.

The world filled with a sudden explosion of light and heat, and Rain could feel shards of glass fly into her, J.D's closeness as he made a vain attempt to shield her from the worst of it, tiny fibers of dust and smoke choking her as she slammed into the far wall of the lab.

Her ears were ringing as she pulled herself to her hands and knees, gazing out at the tiny burning embers surrounding a smoking, bloody carcass on the floor.

J.D stood above her, coughing, asking shortly, "You all right?"

She only nodded, letting him grab her arm and pull her up. "You?"

"Fine," he said, his voice lost in her head. He was shouting, they both were, and yet their voices were somehow tinny, echoing around her head. "That, uh, worked better than I expected."

"What now?" she asked, glancing around the room. With all of the protection this room had been so steadily equipped with, she had expected _something_ to be in here; even a fucking trap door leading to another room or something.

J.D shrugged. "Let's check the monster."

She snorted. "I think he's dead," she said wryly, and he grinned at her.

"Nice observation, Rain," he said sarcastically, moving across the floor, looking at the monster. After a moment, Rain joined him, looking over the monster.

The thin red wires which had coursed through it's eyes surrounded a tiny microchip in it's brain.

J.D and Rain shared a look; and then, reaching forward quickly, J.D leaned down and ripped it out smoothly.

The lights flashed on, and a red light beamed down from an unknown location in the ceiling. Both adopted fighting positions, moving slightly to the side to cover all vulnerable points—

And then a little girl appeared in the light and Rain swore under her breath.

"You have reached Location Laboratory A9," the girl said, her voice formal, calm—the voice of an adult, and J.D connected it instantly with the voice they'd all heard over the loudspeaker moments ago.

The Red Queen.

"The laboratory hosts currently virus A-7, anti-virus A-9— and holds exclusive information regarding the location of anti-virus AV04."

The Red Queen turned to the wall, Rain following her gaze as a map was displayed over the white surface and broken glass. A tiny, blinking star indicated their presence.

"Directly underneath this room is Location Laboratory B18, where the anti-virus AV04 is carefully guarded by a multitude of computer security systems."

The Red Queen paused, and Rain felt an irate sense of familiarity with the child's sphinx-like ways of revealing information. She glanced towards J.D, but his face was blank as he concentrated on the map, obviously completely indifferent towards the computer program projecting it.

_Of course,_ Rain mused, _He didn't exactly have to deal with her fucking mind games four hours straight._

He'd been dead at the time. A zombie.

She felt a sudden pang of longing for Matt or Alice, who would have understood and sided with her firmly implemented hatred of the Red Queen.

At least it was an obviously pre-recorded version of the kid. With the way things were going right now, she didn't think she could have dealt with another appearance by the Red Queen herself.

"Due to your proven ability to bypass this security system, I am required to give you the code."

Rain forced herself to listen again, to pay attention despite the edgy wariness warning against her small hope for an actual answer.

"The code is four-seven-nine-two-eight," the Red Queen droned on solemnly.

"Four-seven-nine-two-eight."

And then the light went out.

Rain turned to look at J.D, her shock echoed on his face, and grinned. "Four-seven-nine-two-eight. Think you can remember that, J.D?"

He didn't even dignify that comment with a response, snorting instead. "C'mon, let's regroup. I want to make sure Olivia's doing okay."

And suddenly Rain came crashing down to earth, remembering what was going on. Remembering the situation they were in.

This battle had been unexpected, and, in a manner of speaking, welcomed. Yeah, they'd just blown half their ammo, but it had been worth it just to work out some of the tension of the last few weeks. And they'd finally gotten somewhere in their search for a cure for Matt.

But for a moment, Rain had forgotten where she was. She'd gotten caught up in the battle, in remembering the way things were, when her and J.D, Matt and Alice, Michael, and Kaplan would fight against Umbrella's monsters, would win.

She'd forgotten that things had changed. She'd forgotten that time had passed.

She'd forgotten that she was angry at J.D, and that she was struggling to hate him.

**xxxxx**

There were a lot of places in the Hive Alice wasn't comfortable with. She'd hated the stone corridor they'd entered through. She'd hated hearing the Red Queen again, and she was sure that, faced with the room she'd destroyed the computer program in, the room where she'd nearly been forced to kill Rain, she'd hate that room too.

Which she hadn't expected was exactly how uncomfortable one simple room could be depending on who was in it with you.

Now, for example. Matt was on the floor, unconscious. Alice sat next to him, holding his head on her lap. And Olivia sat next to her, looking teary and embarrassed.

"I just—I'm so sorry. I fell apart out there, and I feel terrible about it."

Alice nodded absentmindedly, glancing down at Matt. She wished J.D would come in—he would know what to say to Olivia. No comforting statements she'd tried had taken any effect whatsoever on the distraught biochemist.

When Olivia had first thrown herself into the room, the first thing they'd been concerned about was staying well out of the way of the door in case the grenade brought the heavy metal crashing inwards.

Surprisingly, it hadn't, and Olivia had been helpful, looking over Matt and checking for all the things her and Michael knew to check for and Alice had no clue about.

A few more minutes had developed into fifteen, and Olivia had begun a self-deprecatory rant on her inability to handle the situation.

"I know I shouldn't have come with you. I won't, next time. I just—"

"Olivia," Alice said quietly. The girl turned to look at her, and she gave her an exasperated look. "Would you stop apologizing? It's not your fault. Everyone freezes up their first time out there. We've seen things grown men run screaming from."

Olivia nodded, flushing. "I know. I just feel like an idiot."

Alice shrugged. "It's not exactly your field," she said honestly. "And you probably won't be here for our next mission involving any sort of battle." Olivia looked chagrined, and Alice continued: "When Matt's begins to undergo symptoms of the virus, though, or something of Umbrella's needs decoded—you're the best we've got."

Olivia nodded slightly, and Alice pressed on ahead. "People are good at different things, Olivia. It's no big deal."

She nodded again. "Yeah. Thanks, Alice."

She still looked perturbed over the situation, but she was quiet, and Alice figured she'd moved onto mulling things over.

Alice ran her fingers over Matt's forehead, engaging them in a small dance in an absentminded gesture of concern as she glanced at his face carefully.

He seemed fine; she wondered when he'd be waking up this time. Last time, it had taken him less than six hours to recover from the anti-virus's effects.

The door opened quietly, and her and Olivia's heads both snapped up as J.D and Rain, both looking weary, traipsed into the room.

J.D hurried over to Olivia instantly, checking over her quietly, and Rain gave him an annoyed, exasperated glance before returning her gaze to Alice. "Hey."

"Hey," she responded simply, and then added softly, "You okay?"

Rain, as she'd expected, looked irritated at the question. "Of course."

Alice smiled at her soothingly, adding, "You look like hell."

Rain gave her a surprised look before laughing despite herself, and Alice smiled at her. Rain had been irritable lately, and making her laugh was pretty much the only way of bringing her out of it.

Rain straightened slightly. "I have good news, actually."

Alice raised an eyebrow, and Rain smiled.

"We know where the anti-virus is."

End


	10. Chapter Ten: Broken

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: Consider the lacking amount of people _using_ the characters out there, I should own them. But I don't. So don't sue :)

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Firstly, congratulate me, I'm a star:) Really, though, I just got a part in the Cinderella musical my school is doing (wicked stepsister, for those who wonder!), so that means I'm going to be incredibly busy for the next little while, although I promise to work as hard as is humanly possible to continue with on-time updates.

Secondly, I'm really sorry for the lack of thank-you notes this chapter. I've been really busy with a lot of other things, chapters ten and eleven among them, but promise to start sending notes again with this chapter.

Thirdly (And really, most importantly :)) Thanks again to those who have reviewed Into the Light thus far, particularly for chapter nine: Jen Drake, The Seventh Angel, masked-in-your-shadows, Kagii, rain1657, kk, XMaster, and Faded Writer. Please again remember to leave your emails with your reviews so I can thank you for them and answer any questions you have. Thanks goes out also to all those who read and don't review, even though I beg you—continuously—to do so. It's still very appreciated.

Also, just to let you all know my plans for this fic: there's about six or seven chapter left of "Into the Light", and after that will probably be a two week/one month break before the third part. If you'd like an update when I finally do post it, just let me know—I'll post another reminder with the next chapter :)

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Ten: Broken

The blue grey cement walls and pale tiling on the floors of the corridors seemed familiar to Alice the first time the group entered the third floor.

Five minutes later, as they passed by a series of windowed, shattered labs, she had already known what they would find in the next corridors over.

And ten minutes later, when they came into one of the work labs, complete with a ring of desks and office spaces, Alice knew.

She'd been here before.

Her and Matt had, after the first zombie attack. The one that had left J.D dead and the group shattered, half running for an adjacent room while she and Matt had ended up in here. Where Lisa had worked.

She moved closer to him unconsciously, touching his hand gently as they moved around the glass cylinder, fully aware that he was staring inside, looking for—something. Lisa's workplace, Lisa herself, Alice didn't know. She didn't even know what happened to zombies once they were ultimately dead—whether Lisa would even still be here.

He clasped her hand tightly in his, and she squeezed back, feeling a strange mix of love and sympathy wash over her. She wondered if Matt was imagining himself in Lisa's place, picturing his friends' reaction to his own mutation.

_It doesn't matter,_ she told herself firmly.

_Matt's going to be fine._

She doubted the Red Queen's word. She would have to be blind, deaf, and criminally insane not to. But it was a pre-recorded copy of the program they were dealing with this time, and somehow that made it seem safer. The program had already been installed into the room before the Hive first fell, and she had no reason to believe Umbrella would be idiotic enough to plant false programs in their database.

She shook the thoughts away before squeezing Matt's hand tightly once more, then dropping it, moving slightly forward to lead the group as they turned another corner, entering a new corridor and leaving the previous room behind.

They were almost there now. Two more corridors and they would reach the lab the Red Queen had directed them to.

Two more corridors and they would have the anti-virus.

Alice smiled slightly, feeling like a small child waiting for Christmas morning. Everything had been falling apart for God knew how long—their repeated searches had been useless, Matt's mutations continued to increase in strength and occurrence, and now there was tension in the group due to the whole J.D/Olivia question.

But still, they had managed to find a cure—and now, suddenly, things were looking up.

She smiled ruefully. It was strange, but at times Alice felt as if she wanted the cure far more badly than Matt ever could. It would his life at stake, and yet Alice felt she would ultimately lose far more by losing him than he ever could simply by dying.

She stopped suddenly, bringing the entire group to a halt as she stared at the steel numbers over the frosted glass doorway.

Laboratory B18.

They were here.

The door opened easily—the Red Queen had held her end of the bargain about that, at least—and the group of six slipped in quietly, the door closing behind them with a soft 'whoosh'.

"Wow," Michael breathed quietly.

They were in a room which, undoubtedly, served as the highest security containment center of the Hive. Smoky blue glass made up the walls of the room, the floors and the ceiling both covered in a shiny, black paneling.

The only sound in the room emanated from the tall blue screen in front of them, miles away in the massive room, standing surrounded by a convey of lights and buttons and roofing a single security console.

Two plush grey chairs sat in front of the media screen, almost as if they'd been waiting for them.

Past that, the room was empty. Steel drawers, like the ones found in a morgue, covered the adjacent walls top to bottom, no doubt housing the Hive's most secure viral development.

"Technology at its best," Michael mused quietly as Alice moved forward, hovering over the control console. She heard Rain snicker as Matt came up to lean gently behind her, Olivia taking the seat to her right.

"Techie geek," she scoffed.

"Ungrateful," Michael returned easily, and Alice was struck by the reduced shyness in his tone. Rain, with her blunt and outgoing nature, was obviously a perfect catalyst to Michael's—often concealed—wry sense of humor.

_Please Enter The Code._

The words flashed suddenly across the screen, and Alice glanced at Olivia, who shrugged. "Most of the programs are time-programmed relative of the sensory controls on the door. If the door opens, the program starts up. It's protocol; I doubt anything to worry about."

Alice moved her hands to the keyboard to type in the code—

And then suddenly hesitated, her earlier distrust of the Red Queen overtaking her optimism once again. She had no idea if the program was even being honest with her, if the code would work.

For all she knew, the smoky glass would shatter, more of the spider monkey mutants would come bounding through, and Matt—

Matt would mutate again.

Matt's presence was warm, solid and comforting behind her as he whispered, "Go ahead."

She entered in the code.

There was a slight beep, and the screen flashed to black, low blue lights relighting the suddenly dark room as words scrolled across the screen, the Red Queen's voice accompanying them.

"Thank you for entering your code. Anti-virus AV04 will be released following a complete clearance and bypassing of all security systems."

She continued, her voice droll, "Security system bypass will continue through twenty four hours time. The doors will be locked for this time."

"Twenty four hours begins now."

The screen flashed to black again, and the room was filled in a sudden silence as it's occupants stared at one another.

The only sound in the room was Rain's voice as she broke the thundering silence.

"You gotta be kidding me."

**xxxxx**

Three hours had passed since her initial comment, and now Rain lay on the ground, a pad of paper in front of her and a pen clutched firmly in her hand as she pounded numbers into the calculator beside her.

She was attempting—rather badly—to equate a complicated Physics theorem regarding acceleration, gravity, and displacement, among other things.

It hadn't exactly been her idea.. When Michael—lying beside her now, diligently marking her other equations—had offered to teach her some of the "mathematical shit" he loved and she hated enough to refer to it as such, she had adamantly refused.

But then she'd watched as Matt and Alice, and J.D and Olivia, had slunk away to the dark corners of the room to do God knows what, leaving her and Michael alone in the middle of the room, and realized she might as well try it. It's not like she had anything else to do.

Besides, it might be interesting to actually try out the shit that always got Michael so hyped up.

"So how am I doing?" she asked offhandedly.

He grimaced, and she turned to grin at him. "What?"

"Not that well," he admitted. "Your equations are right, but—"

"Yeah, whatever," she cut him off, returning to the page in front of her. "Dude, I failed grade eleven math and dropped out of school a month later. I'm not exactly a friggin' mathematic genius."

He rolled his eyes. "Look, you're doing this right. You're obviously fairly smart—I'm willing to bet anything you were the type of student who skipped class to smoke pot all the time and blamed your failure on the teachers."

She snorted. "Yeah, well, I'm willing to bet you were the type of student who carried six calculators, spent your weekends studying, and glared at me when you passed me in the hallway," she returned, her voice free of any real malice.

He shrugged. "Two, not six," he admitted, and she laughed as he rolled his eyes again. "Seriously, though. You're just having problems with relative distance and reference points."

She stared, and then she laughed. "What?"

Smiling slightly, he reached out and ripped off her equations page to reveal a new one, ignoring her protests. "Look. A person is in a car, throwing apples—" he ignored her snort of laughter—"At someone ahead of the car, at a velocity of 5.6 m/s, if he's acting as the reference point. To the person ahead of him, though, you have to add the speed of the car to that velocity. Do you understand?"

She scowled at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He sighed, pulling out another piece of paper, and she was both amused and exasperated by his persistence.

"Okay, we'll use something you can relate to." He drew a small line, saying, "This is a conveyer belt." A small stick figure appeared on it, and he added, "This is Olivia."

She raised an eyebrow at him and he ignored it, saying, "She's just standing there. The escalator is moving at 5 m/s."

Another stick figure joined the diagram. "This is you, standing here. How fast is Olivia moving?"

"She's not."

He smiled at her, looking like a patient teacher trying to console an irritable child. "Not walking, Rain, _moving._"

She shrugged. "5 m/s."

He nodded. "Right. And then a zombie starts chasing her—" A small, misshapen stick figure landed on the line behind Olivia, and Rain laughed. "So she starts running at 3 m/s," he finished. "How fast is she going?"

"8 m/s," she said promptly.

"And from the zombie's point of view?"

Another slight snicker. "Not fast enough." Michael rolled his eyes at her and she relented, if only slightly. "3 m/s."

He smiled at her. "That's relative distance."

She scowled at him. "So what happens next?"

He stared at her. "What?"

"To Olivia," she clarified. "Does the zombie catch up to her? Do I watch and cackle as she dies a slow and painful death?"

Michael laughed despite himself and she grinned, knowing that, after all this time, some part of him still had to wonder whether or not she was serious.

She wasn't, obviously. She didn't particularly like Olivia, but if she was being chased by a zombie, Rain was sure she'd step in at some point and rectify the situation.

Probably.

"Uh, that's up to you, I guess," he said finally, and she grinned.

"I'm more creative than _that,_" she said, insulted. He ignored her, but she could see the corners of his mouth turning up slightly and grinned.

She returned to her equations, shifting slightly to grab her pen again.

Physics was boring. And yet, lying here, working and talking about little other than the subject, Rain was far more comfortable than she'd been since she'd arrived inside the Hive.

**xxxxx**

For what seemed the first time since she'd arrived inside the Hive, Alice felt safe.

She was leaning up against Matt's chest, his arms wrapped around her stomach and her head against his shoulder, tracing lazy butterfly formations on his jeans with her hands. She could feel his heartbeat behind her, frighteningly fast with the strains of the virus on his system—but still comfortably solid, comfortably _Matt._

He was tracing his own patterns over her shoulder, and she shivered slightly at the sensation.

"So what are we going to do when we get out of here?"

She straightened slightly at the question. "What?"

She felt him shrug behind her as he answered softly, "When all this shit with Umbrella is finished. When I have the anti-virus, when we take down Umbrella and make them pay for what they did to Lisa and everyone else around them… what then?"

Alice answered with her own shrug, pausing before answering softly, "What do you want to do?"

His answer was firm and unhesitating. "Be with you."

She smiled a sleepy smile, leaning further into him as she whispered, "Me too."

She craned her neck to kiss his hand, still traveling gently over her shoulder, before pulling away from him to stand abruptly and sending him an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. I just—I can't sit any longer."

He stayed where he was, reaching up to clasp one of her hands in his. "We'll find the anti-virus," he said gently, reassuringly. "It'll be fine."

She wondered uselessly how he knew how worried she was. How he always knew what she was feeling, before she had said a word.

Pushing aside the rhetorical thoughts, she answered, her voice flat. "Yeah. Assuming the Red Queen actually keeps her word."

He tugged on her hand, and she sighed, rolling her eyes and smiling wryly at him before dropping to her knees next to him. "What?"

"Stop worrying," he said quietly. "We've gotten this far. If it doesn't work, we still have four days left."

"Three," she corrected. "After these twenty-four hours are up."

He shrugged. "Whatever," he said with a small smile. He squeezed her hand, still clasped in his, tightly before leaning forward and dropping a quick kiss on her forehead. "It'll be fine," he whispered, moving onto her mouth.

He wrapped his free arm around her waist, feeling her fingers combing through his hair as he pulled her forward.

She took the initiative, deepening the kiss, and he leaned back so she was pulled practically onto his lap before pulling back slightly.

They were inches apart now, their breaths harsh and commingled, and he rested his forehead against hers, allowing himself to lose himself in the vibrant blue of her eyes as he whispered, "I promise."

**xxxxx**

He'd finally gotten it. J.D had finally found not one, but twenty four hours to talk to both Rain and Olivia and clear the air slightly.

Unfortunately, there was only an hour left now, and instead of dreading an end to the twenty four hours, he was impatiently awaiting it.

Nothing had exactly worked out the way he'd planned. Besides a classic check-up from Alice, her and Matt had been gone all day, and when he'd first considered talking to Rain she'd been halfway across the room, looking so comfortable he hadn't wanted to disturb her. She hadn't been moody for once, and so it had been easier to pretend for the moment that things were still okay between them.

And besides, at the time J.D had seen it as an opportunity to spend some quality time with Olivia. Not only for the obvious physical benefits, but because Olivia had seemed upset about the fight yesterday and he'd been worried about her. She'd waved him off the night before, but he knew she had to have felt at least somewhat guilty about freezing up and had hoped that here, in a quieter, atmosphere, she'd be more willing to talk about it.

Unfortunately, he'd been completely and horribly wrong. Olivia had blown up instantly when he'd brought up the subject and only toned down slightly when she'd noticed, her face reflecting embarrassment, that the entire group was staring at her. While Michael and Rain's expressions had showed surprise and slight amusement, Alice's had been worried and Matt's only slightly baffled.

J.D had taken advantage of her momentary distraction to apologize, explaining that he hadn't meant to accuse her and had only been worried about her. Olivia had then burst into tears, resulting in minute which felt like hours as he stared at her in horrified silence, wondering what the fuck he was supposed to do. The only girl he'd ever been close enough to worry about these situations with was Rain, and she'd never allowed herself to cry in front of him.

Finally, belatedly, he'd reached out to her and she'd shoved him away, moving to the far side of the room where she'd laid down and slept as he watched, torn between anger, worry, and complete bewilderment.

Eventually, they'd all gone to sleep. Rain had stayed up—again—to guard with Alice, and J.D had argued with her until she'd finally agreed to trade off with someone later on so she could actually get some sleep for once.

She hadn't seem pissed off at his protectiveness, as she generally would have, but tired, confused, and wary. He had no idea whether that was an improvement or not.

The first decent night for sleep, everyone had ended up unconscious for at least fourteen hours. Rain, curled up into the middle of the floor, was still asleep. Michael, Matt, and Alice sat a few feet away from her, talking quietly, looking cheerful and even carefree.

J.D envied them. Less than a week ago, he would have been there too, discussing topics of little relevance to the situation at hand and poking at Rain whenever they ran out of things to say.

And now… now he was sitting in front of the computer console, laid back in his chair, pretending not to see as Olivia tossed him uncertain glances and silently counting down the remaining thirty minutes. It was childish, yeah, but he had no fucking idea what he was supposed to do if he locked eyes with her. If he walked over, he risked another confrontation. If he ignored her, he was an insensitive bastard.

It was all fucking stupid.

He felt Olivia's presence before he heard her. "J.D, can I talk to you?"

Her voice was soft and hesitant now. He turned to look at her and immediately wished he hadn't, because her eyes were red and his anger disappeared instantly, leaving only worry behind.

"Yeah," he said softly, gesturing at the empty seat in front of him. "Go ahead and sit down."

She did, gazing at him hesitantly before the words came rushing out. "I'm sorry I was such a bitch yesterday."

Again, he wasn't sure how to respond. Reason and social niceties told him to lie and say she hadn't been, but another part—a much bigger part—waited first for her to finish.

"I was tired, and nervous—and I did feel guilty about freezing. I didn't want to blow up at you, but I was already upset and I just—overreacted. I'm really sorry."

J.D sighed, wishing he felt something other than pure exhaustion. "That's okay, Olivia, we've all been there before," he said automatically.

She shook her head. "No, it's not," she said emphatically. "And I'll make it up to you."

"I promise."

J.D looked at her and couldn't help but smile at the earnest expression on her face. Unsure of what to say, he finally settled on a teasing, "You'd better."

She smiled then, leaning closer to ask softly, "So we're okay?"

He nodded, leaning forward to kiss her gently. "Yeah. We're good."

She moved slightly so that their noses bumped, turning her face up to his, expression content—

And then the beeping started.

They drew apart instantly, looking around as the others roused as well, Michael moving to shake Rain awake.

"Security System Bypass will conclude within sixty seconds."

The Red Queen's voice was oddly formal and cold over the soft, almost melodic beeping as they all moved into the middle of the room, drawing together unconsciously.

"Draw your weapons," Alice said quietly. "Just in case."

They did.

Time went by slowly, the remaining forty seconds stretching out to what felt like forty minutes—

Before a single, high pitched bell sounded and the beeping stopped.

"Security Systems Bypass has ended," the Red Queen said unnecessarily. "Systems opened."

A dull clanging sounded as one of the metal doors unlocked. Seconds later, a red light flashed, identifying the door as one three feet away from the entrance.

Matt moved forward, holstering his gun, and the rest of them stood back and watched as he grabbed the handle of the door and pulled.

A silvery case, identical to the one which had held the first anti-virus, was revealed, smoking and glimmering in the hazy light.

The room held it's breath as Matt lifted it down to the ground, kneeling in front of it. He slid his fingertips under the top, pulling slightly.

The case opened easily, revealing—

The glimmering tops of eight capsules inside.

J.D felt a rush of sudden euphoria fly over him, watching with a stupid smile identical to everyone else's as Alice kneeled next to him, pulling the syringe from the case.

"We should do this now," she said with a small smile, obviously trying to hold back her emotion. "Before it's too late."

Matt nodded his assent, holding out his arm as Alice handed the syringe to Michael, who prepped it quickly and efficiently.

"Grab one of the capsules, please, Alice," he said softly, readying the syringe over Matt's forearm.

She grabbed one, yanking it out hurriedly, clear glass hitting the light and shimmering—

It was empty.

Alice dropped it, grabbing another instead, her face strained and afraid.

Empty.

She threw it this time, grabbing another. It was empty, and she hurled it across the room before lifting the case itself, bringing it crashing down to the ground.

Five empty capsules spilled out over the floor, the shattered glass hitting the light and twinkling obscenely, as if to rub in the fact that they were all empty, completely useless—

"God damn it!" Alice shouted, her voice breaking. "God _damn_ it, I knew we couldn't trust the Red Queen—"

Matt stayed where he was, his pale face showing only mild shock and exhaustion as Olivia stepped forward, saying tentatively, "I don't think the Red Queen could have done this. With the Hive's security systems, those capsules would've had to be full when they were put there." She paused, her voice trailing off slightly as she added, horribly unnecessarily, "It was all a decoy."

"I don't care." Alice's voice was strained to the breaking point, a sound eerily reminiscent to glass cracking and shattering. "I don't fucking care why it's gone, okay?"

She looked ready to burst into tears, J.D noted, a sickening sense of dread settling into the pit of his stomach. They were all standing back, all too aware of how easily a simple gesture could set her off now—

"I suppose you're fucking happy, huh, J.D?" Rain asked lowly, her voice edgy and dark.

He turned to glare at her, wondering what the fuck she was playing at. With Alice's state, even he knew better than to be starting shit like this now.

He opened his mouth to tell her exactly that—

And then stopped when he met her eyes, full of exhaustion, pain—and a twinkling sense of conspiracy.

He understood, suddenly, what she meant to do; he could already see Alice glancing up worriedly, her mothering instincts taking over her own pain.

A slight, conspirational nod passed between them—

And then J.D was answering, his voice as dark as Rain's, "And what the fuck is that supposed to mean, _Rain_?"

She scowled, and suddenly he glimpsed a note of seriousness in her eyes as she said, "What, you don't remember who's fucking girlfriend chose this whole idea? The one who knew all these codes? It wasn't _Alice_."

A seed of doubt twisted painfully in his stomach as he thought over the words, realizing the truth of them—

And then Olivia's face, tired and guilt-stricken, flashed in front of his eyes, and before he knew it he was on his feet, yelling at Rain as she shouted back unhesitatingly, and he understood then, suddenly, that they weren't just playing now.

**xxxxx**

The proceedings taking place in front of him were dark and over-dramatized, miserable and angry in a way that would have been funny if Michael weren't here, right in the middle of it.

Rain and J.D had both moved to screaming at one another senselessly, and while Michael was glad Rain was finally getting all of the words she'd bottled up out of her, he knew that there was no way this was the time or place for it. Alice had already given up on them and was slumped against the wall, her face pale and drawn. She didn't seem to care about the glass surrounding her, and as Matt sat down next to her, taking her hands in his, Michael realized they were bleeding.

Olivia was in the corner, looking shaky and exhausted, and while Michael couldn't blame her for it, he hated being what felt like the only sane person here.

"Guys," he started, his face lost in the noise. "Rain. J.D."

He might as well have been in the argument himself, for all the good his words did; neither of them even looked at him. Nobody did.

He tried again, his voice louder. Nothing.

Finally, the stress of the situation came crashing down over him and before he knew it he was shouting, the words tumbling out of his awestruck mouth, "Both of you shut the fuck up!"

Sudden silence.

He had the attention of everyone in the room now—they were all staring at him, shock clear on their faces, and he shook his head.

"Enough," he said quietly, and it was all he needed to say, but he continued anyways. "Let's go. The anti-virus isn't here, and we're wasting the three days we have left by staying."

He turned to Alice, saying quietly, "We still have three days to infiltrate the other labs."

"It'll be okay."

He said the words smoothly and confidently, accentuating them with a nod.

But as the five of them stood and left the room like a group of POWs, Matt and Alice leaning upon each other as if on life support, Rain and J.D as far apart as was humanly possible, and Olivia trailing behind like a complete outsider, Michael watched them go and realized, with a sickening sense of dread, that everything had already gone wrong—and even he didn't believe his own words anymore.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Underwater Flame

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes:

The play is going well, thanks so much to those who offered congratulations, etc. I am really busy right now, but trying my best to keep up with my regular every-second-Friday update. Regardless, even if I don't have a chapter ready on an update day, I'll post a note letting you all know when it'll be up.

Thanks again to those who have reviewed Into the Light thus far, particularly for chapter ten: masked-in-your-shadows, Darkside Alexis, Xmaster, rain1657, Kagii, Gabzilla, pwrwytoun, and . I'm sorry my little thank-you notes are horribly late; I'm sending them right now, five minutes before posting this:) Please again remember to leave your emails with your reviews so I can thank you for them and answer any questions you have. Thanks goes out also to all those who read and don't review, even though I beg you—continuously—to do so. It's still very appreciated.

A quick apology for the title of the last chapter. I rather hate it, but am far too lazy to come up with another:) Over and done with and all.

And a note concerning this chapter—I feel like it cuts off strangely. However, it was already quite long, and had I continued with everything I wanted to smash into here, it would have been a fifteen page chapter (at least!). So hopefully it still works.

A note regarding fanfiction (dot) net… I'm beginning to hate it. Now it refuses to send me my reviews. And keeps messing with my punctuation.I'm planning a mass revolution, anybody with me:)

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Eleven: Underwater Flame

"Twenty seven labs."

Michael's voice was irritable and tired, bordering on exhaustion when he added, "assuming, of course, Umbrella even has it stored in one of the labs."

Nobody in the room commented on that, each uncomfortably aware of the multitude of rooms in the Hive the anti-virus could be in. Each equally aware that if that was the case, there'd be no way they could reach them all in time.

Matt shook his head softly, unwilling to think about that possibility. For the first time since they'd arrived in the small, thankful windowless room, he actually looked at the people around him.

Michael's face was drawn and tired, his eyes bloodshot as he sat clutching the files. Olivia, sitting to his right, looked on a perpetual verge of tears; J.D, next to Olivia, looked sullen and withdrawn, an uncommon expression on his open face.

Rain sat to the left of Michael and next to Matt, her expression a mixture of sadness, exhaustion, and angry frustration. Sitting next to her, Matt could almost feel the angry energy rising off her in waves and had already numbed himself to the private battle being waged inside of him—Matt wanting to find the right words to make her anger disappear while the other half of his brain, the part already firmly melded into Nemesis, screamed at him to beat it out of her.

The mutation fed off anger and weakness especially, and sitting here, in between Rain and Alice, it was going insane.

He snuck a glance to his right, looking at Alice where she sat, pale and barely composed beside him. Her eyes were a stormy blue awash in anger and misery almost painful to behold, while Alice herself looked ready to crumble at any given moment. Ready to shatter, like a beautiful but delicate china doll hanging in the precipice between comfortably solid table and a careless owner.

All because of him.

"I don't get it."

Olivia's voice was low, and as they all turned to look at her she spoke up, her voice laced with frustration. "The anti-virus should have been there. It was part of the plan, and—"

She broke off as they all stared at her. Even Matt tore his thoughts away from Alice momentarily to ask, his voice low and dark, "What _plan_, Olivia?"

He knew it sounded like he didn't trust her.

And right now he didn't care.

She flushed, before straightening, looking wary but confidant. "My teammates and I were sent down with samples of an anti-virus to house inside the lab. Archangelo wanted them somewhere where nobody could find them, and this seemed the perfect place."

Alice spoke, her voice incredulous. "You knew where the anti-virus was and you didn't say anything?"

Olivia shook hear head. "I didn't even know which one it was," she softly. "We didn't even make it to the labs, I swear."

Matt nodded tiredly. "That's why you knew the codes," he mumbled offhandly.

"Olivia," Alice leaned forward, her blue eyes finally bright with an intensity beyond simple anger or sadness. "What exactly happened to your team?"

Olivia hesitated and she pressed forward. "Finding out where they are now could help save Matt."

They were all staring at her now, and finally Olivia nodded.

"Of course," she said softly.

**xxxxx**

"It was a team of six people—the only person I knew was our leader. He was notorious, a thief, a spy; and an incredibly talented biochemist. I had no idea what his name was, but we all knew him by reputation. He was rumored to have come up with the original formula for the T-virus."

She stopped, sighed. "Although we all knew the basic codes, he was the only one who knew at least as much as Archangelo, if not more."

"It was supposed to be an easy mission. The Hive was already under siege by then, but Archangelo's people had secured a pathway for us. We were supposed to get in, leave the case, and go."

"But something went wrong," Alice said softly. "Didn't it."

Olivia nodded at her. "Yeah. Something went wrong. One of the codes was wrong, and when we entered it, we completely destroyed the security measures holding our pathway together. Umbrella's mutations started flooding in—we were completely unarmed, and we ran."

She paused, struggling to hold her composure against the events flooding through her mind. The memories of the monsters that had come flooding inside, endowed with fangs and claws dripping with blood.

The picture still firmly imprinted in her mind of the monsters bounding forward, enclosing Greg's head in it's mouth and ripping it cleanly from his shoulders.

Greg had been just a kid, barely into his late teens. A child prodigy that had nothing to do with the Hive.

She realized, suddenly, that they were waiting for her to continue, and shrugged lamely. "I have no idea what happened after that—I just ran."

Matt nodded, his eyes intense, and asked gently, "Who had the anti-virus when they broke in?"

She looked at him in surprise, realizing she hadn't even thought about that yet. It hadn't been her, she was sure of that much, or their leader… maybe one of the techies? Or—

"Greg," she said suddenly. "Greg did. One of the monsters got him and he dropped it—we ran. Nobody even stopped to pick it up."

Alice leaned forward, eyes glittering with impulsive energy. "So the case is still there."

"It could be," Olivia said honestly. "But the lab, the entire wing of the Hive the lab was in, is completely submerged. I can't imagine Archangelo just leaving it there—"

"Why not?" Matt interrupted. "It's pretty much the perfect place to put something you don't want found."

She nodded. "But it's still submerged."

She expected exhaustion, frustration, anger at the ostensible fact—but Alice only smiled her cool smile and said, "Best odds we're going to get finding it."

Looking at her, Olivia marveled at the force of will the obvious love Alice held for Matt brought about in the blonde, at her easy acceptance of any possible sacrifice for him.

She wished she had the same kind of relationship with J.D.

J.D, who was leaning forward, asking, "You said this leader guy knew all the codes—any possibility he planned the entire thing?"

She shrugged. "I doubt it," she said honestly. "Like I said, nobody stopped to pick up the case, so I can't really see that happening."

"What'd he look like?" Alice asked. She must have looked confused, because the blonde quickly clarified, "We worked at Umbrella for a long time before the Hive incident. Maybe we'd recognize him."

Olivia nodded, understanding. "Attractive," she admitted. "Dark, curly hair, sharp features, striking blue eyes. Fairly tall, but couldn't have been very old. Late twenties, maybe. He spoke with a Russian accent. Not an easy guy to overlook, in all."

Alice nodded. "Anything else?" she asked, her gaze searching, imploring.

She paused thoughtfully, trying to remember something more useful. "He wore a key, I think. It was silvery, rather simple, and he wore it on a chain around his neck."

Rain started, and the entire table turned to look at her as she pulled something out of her pocket, palming it in her left hand and dropping it on the table, the silvery key glinting in the light. "Is this it?"

Olivia reached across the table, lifting the key and examining it wordlessly. She could hear Matt ask Rain, his tone teasing and exasperated, exactly how long she'd waited before bothering to tell them about it.

She never heard Rain's response.

She was too busy focusing on the miniscule lettering over the key.

"This is his," she said quietly, holding the key up. "I don't recognize the writing though—it's in Russian."

Rain looked surprised, admitting, "I thought that was a secret code or something." Michael snickered, and she punched him in the arm, grinning at him apologetically when he flashed her an injured look.

"Children," Matt said jokingly, and Olivia saw amused exasperation over his and Alice's features and slight jealousy over J.D's. She wondered, suddenly, how this group could still be so cheerful, so close after all the letdowns they'd suffered lately.

Then she saw Alice's smile falter slightly as she reached for the key and realized suddenly that they weren't acting cheerful because they wanted to or felt inclined to, but because they had to. That if they gave into the misery, the hopelessness, they'd all—Olivia included—lose all sense of sanity.

"My mother was Russian," Alice said softly, studying the key intently. "I can probably read this."

And as they watched in silence, she looked up, her expression surprised, and said, "It's a name."

"Alexei Demitrov."

They all turned to look at Rain again, Olivia asking, "Where did you get this?"

Rain narrowed her eyes the question, and Olivia got the uncanny sense that she was gauging her possible reaction to the answer. Finally reaching a decision, the brunette said bluntly, "A corpse, in that room by the theatre—" Here she exchanged a look with Matt—"Was wearing it. I, uh, thought it might be useful."

"What'd he look like?" Olivia asked quietly.

Rain grimaced slightly. "Hard to say. He was sort of—"

Alice shot a look at her and her words fell short, Rain flashing her an exasperated look.

Olivia just nodded, surprised at the wave of disappointment that rushed over her after hearing the news. She hadn't known Masaryk personally, but he'd been a link to her team, to the anti-virus. A link that was gone now.

There was a moment of silence before Michael cleared his throat. "About the labs—I vote we start tomorrow, sweep across the first floor in under and hour assuming there's no complications—"

"No," Alice said shortly, shaking her head. "We should head out to the place Olivia's mentioned first. Start on the labs immediately afterwards—if we have to."

"Alice, it's completely submerged," Matt said softly, watching her carefully. "Do you really think that's the best idea?"

She turned to stare at him, and the look that passed between them was electric as she said shortly, "It's the only idea."

He smiled at her then, looking exasperated and yet loving, and she only smiled at him.

Rain let out a discreet cough, and grinned as they turned to look at her. "Are we going?"

**xxxxx**

Twenty minutes later they were in the corridors again, hurrying down the long, white hallways in pairs and carrying weapons in front of them.

Their knapsacks, this time, were back in the room through which they'd came, Michael patiently guarding them—again. Olivia was coming along again, for the same reasons, and they only hoped her performance this time would be better than her last had been.

J.D and Olivia were last in their little line of people, walking a few paces behind Matt and Rain, Alice leading them all.

And they were fighting. Again.

"I just don't see why Rain didn't tell anyone about the key," Olivia hissed under her breath.

Ahead of him, J.D could see Rain's shoulders tense and he sighed. "Enough, Olivia. We don't exactly do fucking check-ups, okay? She probably just forgot about it."

She glared at him. "And how do you know that?"

He sighed. "Olivia, why exactly would she keep it a secret and tell us now? You're not making any sense."

Olivia was quiet for a moment, finally muttering bitterly, "Yeah, well, that's easy for you to say. It's not like you'd even care if she was."

J.D barked out a laugh. Ahead of them Matt started an absurdly cheerful conversation, obviously attempting to drown them out. "Look, Olivia, you're not exactly one to complain about withholding information here."

She gasped in disbelief. Her expression was one of hurt commingled with anger, and for a moment he regretted his comment, wondering if he'd gone to far.

Then: "Well, unfortunately _my_ boyfriend isn't covering up for _me_!"

J.D knew that she was just pissed off. That by now, even she had to realize that she was grasping, that her comments, while undoubtedly rude, were completely unfounded. She probably didn't even mean them.

Still, he resented her complaining about Rain's trustworthiness when he was working so hard to convince the group that Olivia herself was still trustworthy. He resented the fact that Olivia would not just let things go for once, and resented the fact that she continued to imply that him and Rain were together, or something equally stupid.

But mostly he resented the accusation that he would betray his own fucking friends to defend anyone.

Still, he didn't exactly predict the words that came from him next: "Would you shut the fuck up already!"

Olivia's eyes narrowed. Matt and Rain stopped their conversation and listened. Even Alice, the only one to stay cool and collected so far had slowed down, waiting for the inevitable outburst.

And then they were both shouting, screaming at each other in angry tones that echoed through the halls. While Matt's awkward conversation had finally ceased, he was looking at the floors, at the walls, anywhere but at the spectacle in front of him. Rain and Alice weren't even trying to pretend they weren't listening anymore, both staring with expressions of annoyance.

J.D had no idea how long they would have stayed there fighting with one another if Alice hadn't interrupted, her tone full of a disgust that J.D had never heard from her before, with the words, "Are you two done?"

They both turned to look at her, the icy tones of her voice far more commanding than an angry outburst would have been, and she continued. "Don't let me stop you. If you two want to stay here and fight, that's your own goddamn choice. Matt can just stand there and wait for the anti-virus to come to us."

They just stared at her, Olivia's cheeks flaming with obvious embarrassment, J.D's own expression one of guilt and bewilderment. In all the years he'd known Alice, he'd never heard her speak that way to him.

Unsure of what to say, he glanced towards Rain and Matt. Neither of them were any help: Matt looked off in a world of his own, the expression on his face dark, and Rain just looked tired and confused now.

Without a word, Alice turned and resumed walking.

Matt and Rain fell into step behind her, all three walking comfortably, as if they'd walked these corridors a thousand times before.

Which, considering their entrapment down here together in October, they probably had.

J.D and Olivia hung back awkwardly, a striking contrast to the smooth efficiency of the three soldiers ahead of them.

They exchanged a glance, and J.D gestured down the hallway.

"Go," he said.

She went.

**xxxxx**

The corridor was blank, empty and dark as it loomed down the hallway ahead of them.

The lights had died almost ten minutes ago, and they'd been wandering around blindly since then, J.D's lighter providing the only light in the shadowed corridor.

Not, particularly, an environment they felt safe in.

The lighter kept going out, for one thing—J.D had already said it was running out of fluid—and light or not, if something decided to attack them here and now, they were almost completely helpless. They'd be more likely to shoot each other than anything pursuing them.

Alice sighed, thinking wistfully of the lanterns and flashlights still stocked inside the Spencer mansion. Lanterns and flashlights she'd assumed someone would have remembered to bring along.

"I can't believe we don't have a better light than this," she muttered softly.

Rain, however, must have heard. Indignantly, she said, "We packed them. Michael has them."

Alice heard Matt, somewhere up ahead of them, chuckle softly. "We're stuck with this shitty lighter when we had _flashlights_ in those bags?"

Behind them, J.D let out a slight scoff, and Alice could almost see Matt grin in the darkness. "Sorry, J.D."

"That lighter's very important to J.D," Rain drawled beside her. "His great grandfather times a thousand gave it to him or something."

Alice was cheered slightly to hear J.D give a surprised laugh at a somewhat friendly comment Rain had obviously not meant to let slip.

The whole Rain/J.D/Olivia triangle was getting ridiculous. Half the time now Alice felt like she was dealing with thirteen year olds, and Rain's suddenly confrontational mood and Olivia's over-dramatic attitude were only compounding that feeling.

And to top that all off, Alice didn't even see the point of the tension. J.D and Olivia obviously cared about one another, but it was just as obvious to Alice that their relationship wasn't going to last. When they weren't fighting, they were making out. Both were too impetuous to make a relationship work between them.

Which was fine. Alice would have been happy to let them figure it out on their own if they'd had the common decency to keep it to themselves.

The pungent water, cold and wet, sliding over her boots brought her out of her thoughts.

"What the hell?" Matt muttered.

Behind her, Alice heard Rain ask irately, "What the fuck are we standing in?"

Alice smiled. "I'm guessing we've reached the flooded passageway," she said dryly.

"We're close," Olivia, standing behind them, said. She'd been silent throughout the rest of the trip, and her voice made Alice jump slightly. "There should be a room off to the right soon—we can stop there and recap."

Alice nodded, moving to the right to rest one hand on the wall, sliding it along as she continued to walk.

Five minutes later and about three feet deeper, Alice's hand hit solid wood.

A doorway.

"Guys," she said softly. "Found a doorway."

They sloshed in together, J.D relighting his lighter again to reveal a completely empty, mirrored room. Their dark reflections bounced distortedly off the walls and water as Olivia stepped forward, pressing her hand firmly into a thin overlapping mirror nearly invisible against all the other mirrored surfaces.

Across the room, a mirror slid up into the ceiling, revealing a darkened room containing a single staircase as water began to slosh inside.

Olivia was first walking up the staircase, Matt, Alice, and Rain pulling out their weapons despite her assurances that it was safe.

True to her word, it was. The staircase led to a small room, empty beyond the cabinets on the far wall and a small table and chairs in the middle of the room.

Alice took a seat, the others following her lead, and glanced across the table at Olivia. "What's the plan?"

The brunette looked surprised, and Alice smiled. "I thought you and Matt had one mapped out already."

Alice shrugged. "You're the one who knows the layout of this place," she said simply. "We trust you."

To her credit, Rain did not let out any comment. Possibly because of the sharp look Alice had thrown her before finishing her sentence.

Olivia just nodded. "Okay."

"The corridor we were just in goes on for a long time before reaching a square room. That square room branches off to four more rooms, each with it's own separate code panel. Once each code is entered, a fifth room opens into another corridor, which is where the anti-virus—if it's still down here—will be."

She paused for a moment, then continued. "There's a intercom system that runs through the whole passageway."

Standing, she crossed the room to open one of the cabinets, revealing a simplistic black box housing two different headsets and a small array of buttons. "This is the main control system."

Looking back at them, she added, "I think two people should stay here, while the other three go through the corridors. There shouldn't be any problems, but if there are, it'd help to have easy access to the security councils underneath the staircase."

Alice nodded, pleased with how easily Olivia had taken control. The lab technician knew a lot about the Hive—far more than the rest of them did—and Alice trusted that information more than simple speculation.

Rain spoke up, her voice doubting. "And if someone gets attacked down there, there's only two people to back them up."

Olivia nodded, her expression grim. "I know it's risky—"

"It's fucking stupid," Rain cut her off. "Nobody even knows how to use the security council underneath the stairs."

Olivia looked like she was struggling to keep her patience. "I could tell you over the intercom system."

The look on Rain's face clearly explained her opinion of that idea, and Alice spoke before she could say anything. "Look, I think this is a solid plan. Rain's right, it's risky, but since when has anyplace in the Hive been safe?"

Rain looked indignant, and Alice pressed ahead. "We'll take a vote. We have five people here, so we'll have a decent verdict."

Rain shrugged. "You know my vote."

"Mine too," Olivia said, her voice cold.

Matt shook his head slightly, sending an exasperated glance out of the corner of his eye at Alice before adding, "I'm with Olivia's plan."

Alice nodded quietly. "Me too." J.D opened his mouth to speak, and Alice cut him off. "Three to one odds, we're going." She stole a quick glance at Rain. The brunette only shrugged. Alice sighed. "Olivia goes—"

"I'm going too," Rain said stubbornly.

Alice sent her a look of pure exasperation. "Rain, you and J.D are staying up here."

Neither looked happy with that verdict, and Rain asked, a whiny, irritable tone to her voice, "And why is that, exactly?"

Tired of their behavior—of everyone's behavior—Alice said coldly, "Because the three of you act like children when you're together and I'd rather you don't jeopardize this mission."

The three she was referring to was obvious, and none of them spoke. Taking that as a sign of acceptance, Alice said simply, "Let's go."

**xxxxx**

The water was icy cold, disgusting and slimy, and as Matt trudged through it wearily, Alice at his side and Olivia slightly ahead of them, he realized they'd been walking for roughly ten minutes now.

Olivia hadn't been exaggerating when she'd said this corridor went on a long time.

The brunette was slightly ahead of them now, wearing one of the headsets they'd found on the lower level. All three of them were wearing them, and Matt tugged slightly at the mouthpiece of his, feeling ridiculous.

J.D and Rain had only checked in once, to make sure the headsets were working, and that was it. Matt wondered what they were doing up there now. If it'd been J.D and Olivia, he'd have known the answer: either making out or arguing. But with Rain and J.D, you never knew. The two could be sitting in silence, glaring at each other, in the middle of an all out war, or Rain could have already killed J.D and been plotting ways to destroy the evidence.

Either way, he was glad he wasn't there with them.

After what seemed like another six hours, the corridor opened up into a massive room. Alice tapped the mouthpiece of her headset. "We're in the square room."

After a moment, J.D answered, his voice crackling over the speakers. "Rain found emergency lights, we're going to turn them on."

Blue lights were flicked on, flooding the room with a hazy light. With the water being slightly over Matt's waist already, some were underwater, sending strange beams throughout it.

He turned back to look at Alice and Olivia, the blue beams sending a somber, almost mystical delicacy to their features. "Which room first?"

Olivia bit her lip, and then said, "Look, maybe I should go into the rooms while you guys stay here."

Alice glanced sharply at her. Matt just stared at her, waiting for her to continue. She flushed. "It's just—if anything comes in here, it'll be from that corridor."

As if on cue, the three turned to look down where they'd came, the black tunnel stretching on endlessly. Something could easily come down through there, and they'd have no idea it was there until it was too late.

Matt turned back to Olivia, saying simply, "We'll stay here and wait."

She nodded, looking relieved at his easy acceptance. "Okay. I'll, uh, be right back."

She left, sloshing through the water into the open doorway to their right. Despite the hazy blue lights, the room was dark, and with the tinted windows she disappeared from view in a matter of minutes.

Matt and Alice waited, both on guard, not only against anything that could be coming through that corridor.

Finally, she spoke. "Something about this isn't right."

He turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "Just a feeling," she said darkly.

He nodded. It sounded ridiculous, but he was familiar with Alice's strangely intuitive nature. She didn't often voice it, but when she did, there was always some sort of reason behind it.

"First code's entered," Olivia's voice crackled over the system. They both looked up, watching as she sloshed back out of the room, flashing them a quick smile before heading into the next.

It didn't help that Matt's own intuition was fairly vocal right now. Unfortunately, his intuition was usually wrong, nothing like Alice's.

Part of his worry, though, was due to Olivia's sudden eagerness to work on her own. It might have been just her getting a grip on the situation, gaining some confidence after her disastrous mission last time.

Of course, it could also have been Olivia turning against them somehow.

He shook his head as she came wandering out of the second room and into the third. He didn't want to believe she was capable of that. She cared about J.D, anyone could see that despite all their fighting; and he sincerely doubted she wanted anyone on the team dead.

He scowled, remembering Spence. Unfortunately, appearances were never entirely correct.

Alice sighed next to him, and he moved closer slightly, resting a hand comfortably on her hip as they looked out at the corridor of blackness.

Behind them, Matt could hear Olivia moving past them into the fourth room.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

Her voice was wry as she answered. "I should be asking you the same thing."

He was unsure of what to say to that; any answer he gave in the affirmative would be a lie, and it was obvious that Alice didn't particularly want to talk about her own emotions right now.

So he stayed quiet, tugging her closely only slightly. A small smile graced her lips.

And that's when the beeping started.

Matt only had a moment to wonder why the godforsaken beeping soundtrack seemed to connect itself to the entire building before him and Alice were pulling apart, Alice asking edgily, "Olivia, what's going on?"

The brunette came wading out of the fourth room, flashing them both a confidant smile. "It's just a confirmation request. It'll quit when the doors open."

They both nodded, Matt turning back towards the corridor while Alice stayed turned into the room, watching the doorway.

A full minute passed. The beeping continued, and nothing more happened.

Olivia frowned. "I'm just going to go check on the computer," she said, almost apologetically as she slid back into the fourth room.

The door slid shut behind her.

Matt and Alice glanced at each other worriedly as each door around them slid closed rapidly, both moving into combat positions, looking around them warily.

The beeping stopped.

"Olivia," Alice said into the speaker, sounding irritable with the tone of anger that only came with fear, "What's going on?"

Olivia's voice came back, nervous and tense, "I don't know. The computer's working the way it's supposed to, but the door's locked. I don't know why."

Matt glanced back over his shoulder at Alice. "Should we let Rain and J.D know what's going on?"

She shook her head. "No need yet," she said, her voice edgy.

Across the room, a silvery sheeting of the wall was sliding down slowly, revealing another gaping corridor, this one dark and empty as well.

Water began to rush into the room.

"It's just water from the flooded corridor," Olivia said, and Matt realized she could see them through the windows of the door. "It'll level out in a few minutes."

Alice just nodded, her and Matt moving back anyways, steadying their weapons. The water was already nearly up to their waists now, and both were silent, the sound of their breathing lost in the rush of the water pouring in.

And then Matt heard Alice curse quietly under her breath, and looking up at the panel, now lowered halfway down into the water, understood why.

Less than twenty feet away from them, a triangular fin broke the surface of the water.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Calm Before The Storm

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes:

Thanks again to those who have reviewed Into the Light thus far, particularly for chapter eleven: XMaster, masked-in-your-shadows, Kagii, kk, SangoLancer200, and VixenVampireChick. Please again remember to leave your emails with your reviews so I can thank you for them and answer any questions you have. Thanks goes out also to all those who read and don't review, even though I beg you—continuously—to do so. It's still very appreciated.

I am proud to say that, this time, my thank-you notes were sent a whole day early! LOL.

Also, not very much M/A in this chapter. Instead, I've practically overdosed on the R/J aspect (as friends, not a shippy thing). There is a reason, and I promise I'll restore a balance soon (or just switch sides completely—no R/J, and a bunch of M/A, for all I know ).

Also, I noticed a _massive_ error in my last chapter: Olivia's team leader is, in fact, Alexei Demitrov. I typed in "Masaryk" by mistake. It's all very embarrassing  Especially since he's going to play a big role in the third part of the trilogy.

And also… I've been reading CSI fanfiction a lot. I've been stressed out and busy and scattered, so there is a possibility of my fanfiction being OOC right now due to the fact that I'm constantly shifting between things right now. Ergo, I really, _really_ need you all to be completely honest with me and let me know if my chapters are error-ridden or, especially, out of character.

Still hate fanfiction (dot) net, for those wondering.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Twelve: Calm Before the Storm

The pool of water was dark and filmy, tranquil except for the missile sliding into it with explosive force. It hit the water, the pool exploding into a fine spray of water before settling back into it's regular placidity, ripples circling it's borders.

With a sigh of boredom, Rain tore her eyes from the leaky faucet and the rapidly spreading pool of water it was creating directly underneath it to look at J.D.

He was seated in the far corner of the room, one hand on his headset, tilted impossibly far back in his chair to stare at the ceiling.

She frowned, fidgeting slightly. She didn't particularly want to talk to J.D, not with all the problems they'd been having lately, but up here—completely alone—she didn't exactly see any other fucking choice. They'd both only spoken once so far, and that had been earlier, when she'd found the emergency lights.

Not, of course, that their conversation—consisting of J.D asking "Found the lights?" and Rain answering "Uh huh"—was worth anything.

She snickered slightly, remembering the conversation and recognizing the stupidity of the whole thing. In less than a week, they'd moved from a freakishly close relationship to one based on alienation bordering on hostility.

He glanced over at her, looking wary. "What?"

She shrugged. "Nothing."

He opened his mouth to respond—and then stopped, looking mutinous as he looked away. "Whatever."

"What?" she snapped at him.

He sighed. Then, sounding irritated, "What do you mean, what?"

"Whatever," she mimicked him in a high, whiny voice. "What the fuck was that supposed to mean?"

He sighed again. "Look, would you stop? I didn't mean anything by it."

Rain started to argue, but cut herself off. What was the fucking point?

After a moment, J.D spoke again. "Do you think Alice was right?"

Surprised at the seemingly random comment—not to mention the complete lack of hostility in his tone—she paused briefly before asking carefully, "What do you mean?"

"That you and I can't spend five minutes together without fighting," he answered, sounding frustrated. "What she said before she left."

She shrugged. "How should I know?" He was silent, and she looked back at him, curious despite herself. "Why do you care?"

He sighed, tilting back on his chair again to stare at the ceiling as if it would supply him with all the answers. Just as Rain's patience had reached it's breaking point and she was preparing to launch herself across the table at J.D and strangle him into speech he looked at her, letting the legs of his chair thump back down onto the ground.

"Because I care about you," he said seriously. "And it's fucking stupid if we can't even talk anymore because of this whole thing.

She stared at him. Part of her wanted to say something nice, something slightly more honest and agree with him. Tell him that she hated the animosity between them as well.

Yet that single part of her, that same goddamn quality that forced her not to trust anyone and above all to never, ever tell someone anything that could be construed as sentimental, directed her next words. "Are you sure you _want_ to talk to me? According to Olivia, I'm pretty fucking untrustworthy."

J.D sighed, rolling his eyes and staring up at the ceiling for what felt like the fiftieth fucking time. "Not that again."

She snorted. "Yeah, _that_ again. Tell me, J.D, what was your vote?"

He turned to look at her, confusion on his face. "What?"

"This mission," she clarified. "Were you on my side, or Olivia's?"

He let out a distinct noise of disbelief before saying, "It wasn't about choosing a fucking side, Rain. It was strategy. That's it."

She rolled her eyes at him. "All right then, J.D. What was your choice of _strategy_?"

He stared at her, his gaze almost defiant as he replied, "Olivia's."

She snorted. "I knew it. You don't trust her plan, and yet you still would have voted for it."

"I don't _trust_ her?" He echoed. "Since when are you a fucking mind reader, Rain?"

"Since when do you vote based on favoritism, _J.D_?" she countered.

He let out a sound of disgust. "_Favoritism,_ Rain?"

"I don't know what else you'd call it."

Complete silence filled the room. Finally, J.D sighed again. "Fine. You know what, Rain? Maybe I didn't completely trust her plan. That doesn't mean it wasn't the better one."

He had admitted what she'd wanted him to admit, and she expected to feel some sense of victory, but she didn't.

She just felt empty.

The two lapsed into silence again, Rain staring fixedly back at the broken pipe while J.D returned his gaze to the ceiling.

When the voice broke in through the microphone on their headsets, both practically leapt for the control switches. Rain got there first, glaring at J.D as she flicked it on. "What?"

Olivia's voice crackled through, sounding high and nervous. "I'm in one of the rooms, the middle room has been closed off, it's flooding and there are sharks coming through, possibly infected—"

None of this made sense to Rain, and she pulled away from J.D's outstretched hands, still reaching for the mike, as she snapped, "Where are Matt and Alice?"

Olivia's voice crackled through again, a distinct edge of panic there now.

"They're in there with the sharks."

**xxxxx**

Alice only caught a glimpse of the first fin before she was stumbling through the water, grabbing Matt's hand to pull him along with her. She had no idea whether there were any escape routes, whether the sharks were infected or not—whether the _water_ was infected—

"Olivia!" she barked into her headset, Matt squeezing her hand in his as she silently counted the number of fins she could see. "What the fuck is going on?"

Olivia's voice was admirably calm considering the circumstances as she replied, "I don't know. There's a drainage outlet further back, Rain and J.D are looking for it."

"How long is that going to take?"

"Seven or eight minutes at the most," Olivia assured them.

Six fins. Six sharks in all.

"We don't have that kind of time," Alice said grimly.

The sharks weren't doing anything. Not yet. Instead they were circling them, reminding Alice eerily of a cat toying with mice.

"There's no way out," Olivia said nervously. "Unless—"

"Unless what?" Matt barked.

"Go through the doorway," Olivia continued, her voice taking on an edge of confidence. "I can close it, keep the sharks locked in here."

Matt and Alice glanced at each other, then at the doorway, almost completely open now, the water flooding up to their chests. There was no way they'd make it in there without at least one of the sharks following, but that still meant better odds of survival than they had in here.

Then Alice thought of Olivia. She stole a look at the glass doorway of the room she was in, her mind absentmindedly registering the fact that Matt had pulled out his MP5, was training it on the sharks now.

The glass was thin, fragile.

If the sharks decided to ram it, it wasn't going to hold.

"Olivia," Alice said shortly. "When Matt and I go through, the sharks will still be here."

The biochemist's voice was confidant as she replied, "I know. I think—they can sense movement, but I don't think they can see. That's why they haven't moved since you and Matt stopped."

The water was ebbing in more slowly now, and Alice realized she was right. The sharks couldn't see her or Matt—their eyes were blank, empty, dead, where they floated in the water in hazy tandem. But then—

"Shouldn't they have been able to feel the water moving when Matt—" she gestured towards him, still holding the gun.

Olivia's voice was unsure as she answered, "I don't know. Probably. The moving water, though—it's confusing them. You two should go now, before it stops."

Alice nodded, turning to look at the doorway. Almost lowered to the bottom by now, the water still poured in, though more slowly, lapping over them in gentle waves.

She stared at Matt, and he looked back at her, his expression tense as he gave a short nod.

Alice tapped her headset. "Olivia?"

"Do it."

**xxxxx**

Matt and Alice stole one last look at each other before breaking away, each splitting onto different sides of the room to rush the door as Olivia slammed her hand onto the starting panel. She could hear the distinct whir of machinery emanate from the panel as the door began to rise.

Matt disappeared from view immediately, but with her face pressed against the glass, Olivia could still see Alice as she inched around one of the sharks, clambering onto the desk in front of the window both to see better and to avoid sending any telling disruptions in the water's flow—

And almost fell off when one of the sharks whipped around, latching it's razor sharp teeth into Alice's thigh.

She let out a sharp cry of pain, terribly audible over the headset as she stumbled slightly. Olivia ignored J.D's and Rain's voices as they flew across the speakers, both demanding to know what was going on as Matt pulled out his gun, shooting the shark violently in the eyes as it lashed back towards Alice.

Blinded—if one could even use the term— it pulled back, but the damage was already done.

Blood spurted through the water, staining it red, and the sharks went into a frenzy, each turning to locate the source of the blood—

As Alice yanked a knife from her jacket and stabbed it into the sharks side, ripping a large tear through it's skin. Blood, thick and grimy but still blood, spurted instantaneously through the water, and even though Alice's face was pale, almost white by now, her expression was relieved as she dropped the knife and hurried back, clasping one hand over her wound. Matt came to meet her, wrapping one arm smoothly around her waist as they hurried towards the steadily rising doorway—

As the five sharks latched onto the bleeding sixth, ripping it open, darkening the water to a muddy red.

Matt and Alice disappeared over the doorway, Matt's headset catching briefly on the wall before he ripped it off and threw it into the water.

The door slammed shut behind them, and Olivia breathed for what felt like the first time in hours.

J.D's and Rain's shouts finally registered to her, and she flicked the switch to speak, reveling in the sudden silence. "Sorry. Alice got bitten by one of the sharks. She's fine, her and Matt both made it out all right. Have you found the drainage switch yet?"

Rain answered, her voice edgy. "You didn't exactly give us a place to look. And why didn't you let us know what was going on earlier?"

Olivia started to answer, and then stopped. She could hear Rain and J.D arguing, and then his voice came on. "Olivia? You okay?"

Despite her earlier annoyance at him, she was touched by the concern in his voice and gave a short sigh, wishing, not for the first time, that things could always be so simple. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good," he said brusquely. "Where's the drainage panel?"

**xxxxx**

"A little further to the left," J.D told her, his voice disembodied and far away.

Rain reached out with her left hand, and felt J.D shift beneath her as he called up, "No, your other hand."

She didn't bother answering—he wouldn't be able to hear her anyways—but sighed at their ridiculous position as she reached forward into the darkness, fumbling around with her right hand.

They were beneath the stairs, J.D holding her up so she could reach into the opening in the ceiling they'd already uncovered beneath a loose ceiling panel. She was fumbling around blindly for a light while Olivia gave instructions to J.D over the headset.

Her hand closed around a chain. She paused, then yanked it down.

A light lit in the ceiling briefly before exploding back into darkness. Rain pulled back automatically to avoid the falling glass and succeeded only in banging her head into the corner of the opening. "Goddamn it, ow."

"Found the light?" J.D called up to her.

"Yeah," she shouted. "It's broken."

She felt J.D shift slightly, and covered her head as he lifted her back down to the ground, wondering what he was doing. Not that it mattered. She was getting tired of waving her arms around blindly anyways. "Just lift me in, it's big enough."

He ignored her, and she let out a sharp sigh of annoyance. "J.D, I'll fit. Just lift me the fuck up already."

His face darkened, and she narrowed her eyes at him—

And then stopped as he grabbed his headset, pressing the headphones into his ears as he turned away, and she realized he hadn't even heard what she'd been saying. "Olivia?"

Rain couldn't hear Olivia's words, but even from here she recognized the sound of breaking glass, crashing suddenly over the headset. "Olivia!"

They could hear Olivia shouting at them, both of them unable to make out her words—

And the silence, when the line cut out, was painfully audible.

"Olivia?" J.D shouted. There was no answer, and he swore, throwing the headset to the ground. "Goddamn it!"

Rain just stared at him, biting her lower lip nervously. There was a time when she would have known what to say here, but with Olivia, Rain was totally lost. J.D was… weird about her, either angry or horribly lovesick, but volatile either way, and she didn't know what to say anymore.

Finally, she cleared her throat. "J.D?" He looked at her, his eyes dark and face strangely blank. "Lift me up."

He did.

Five minutes later she was in the hatch, crawling down an absurdly long tunnel, J.D's lighter clutched in her hand. Cobwebs scratched at her face, and she brushed them aside impatiently as she ran her elbow against the wall.

She finally hit something solid, and stopped. Turning, she lifted the lighter to illuminate the object.

It was a red button set into the interior of a small glass box, the words 'Drainage Hatch' scrolled clearly above the system. Looking at it, Rain felt a small shot of sorrow go through her for Olivia. She had neither trusted nor, generally speaking, even liked the biochemist—but she hadn't wanted her to _die._ Not seriously, anyway, and especially not in the horrific way she probably had.

And no matter what she thought, she couldn't help but feel guilty that she hadn't found the panel in time.

She didn't bother fumbling for a clasp to the glass door. Instead she just leaned back slightly, shielded her face, and threw her elbow into the glass.

It shattered, and she pressed her palm firmly into the button, watching as it lit up.

J.D tapped on the ceiling underneath her and she knocked back, their universal auditory signal for the all-clear.

J.D was waiting at the bottom, and as he lifted her down and turned to check his ammo, she asked cautiously, "Are you okay?"

He glared at her. "Why the fuck would you care?"

She stared at him. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Of course I care."

He just glared at her, shifting the gun in his hands as he said, "I'm going to look for Olivia. You coming?"

She shook her head, unsure of what to say. "J.D, I think—I mean, Olivia's—"

"Catch up when you can," J.D said brusquely. He turned and left, leaving Rain to stare disbelievingly after him.

She glanced up at the ceiling, wishing something—anything—would come down and knock some sense into J.D. She didn't want Olivia to be dead, and she wasn't trying to make this harder on J.D. She wasn't.

But wandering blindly down the corridors looking for a person who wouldn't even be there was about the stupidest thing they could do right now.

"God _damn_ it, J.D."

Rain followed him out the door.

**xxxxx**

Alice was breathing harshly, obviously in pain, and Matt kept his arm around her as he stumbled over to the wall, both of them sliding down against it.

The corridor they were in now was all green-tinged glass and white tiling, stretching forward to show another walk of at least fifteen minutes. It was still flooded, though not to the same extent of the room they'd just escaped from.

Matt focused on Alice, turning to face her more fully as he ran his hands up her left leg to locate the wound.

The low water lapped gently at their ankles, the dim blue emergency lights making the blood still trickling from the wound seem almost to glow in the darkness.

"You okay?" he whispered to her, sliding his hand underneath hers, covering the wound gently.

She nodded, resting her head against the wall behind her and closing her eyes briefly. "Yeah. I don't think it's bleeding much anymore, and the shark wasn't infected. I'll be fine."

Matt smiled, impressed with her outer façade of strength as he dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Can you walk?"

She nodded, making a motion to get up, and he laughed slightly, pushing her back down gently. "Wait a minute. Let me wrap that up first."

Alice smirked slightly, her blue eyes bright as she raised an eyebrow at him, and he was happy to see the color coming back into her cheeks again.

He pulled the gauze and tape out of his pocket and set to work wrapping it around her thigh, knowing by her movements that she was scanning the area around them.

_Once a S.W.A.T cop, always a S.W.A.T cop,_ Matt thought, amused despite himself. _Even if it was for Umbrella._

He'd had those same thoughts once, watching some dumb cop they'd managed to pick up from Umbrella years before, when he and Lisa had still been on active duty working against the corporation. They'd been interrogating him, and had been frustrated with his less than forthcoming responses to their questions until they'd realize that the cop simply had no idea what Umbrella did, or how they did it. All he cared about was that they paid him top-notch salary and he got to carry a firearm.

At the time, Matt had been less than amused by his reinforcement of the stereotypical macho-idiot cop persona, and the words hadn't been a compliment so much as an irritated insult.

With Alice, though—everything about her was so alert. She was always looking, always seeing things so many others missed, whether examining a scene or the people around her.

He finished taping her wound and stood, offering her a hand and knowing she wouldn't take it.

She smiled as she stood, completely on her own, and flicked the safety off her gun. She reached out once, grabbing his hand in hers and squeezing it quickly—and then letting go, both of them striding down the corridor towards an unknown destination.

**xxxxx**

Rain caught up to J.D about five minutes into the pathway, and although he acknowledged her presence with a simple grunt, barely even glancing at her, he was glad she had followed.

Part of him wanted to hate her. Rain epitomized the perfect catalyst for his emotions; no matter what he said, he knew he could count on her to get angry, to fight with him, to give him an outlet through which to burn through pent up anger and pain.

The other part of him, though, hated using Rain that way. J.D knew Rain understood his need to lash out just as well as he himself did, even pushing him towards such methods at times, but it wasn't something he liked to make a habit out of. Especially not now, when they were on such shaky ground already.

Especially not now, when Olivia might be gone and Rain might be all he had left.

Their boots squelched wetly on the ground, despite most of the moisture being gone already—the drainage panel had obviously worked.

Too little, too late, as far as J.D was concerned.

His grip tightened on the handle of his gun as blue lights flooded the corridor ahead of him and he realized they were almost there.

A few steps later, and the first thing J.D took in about the room was the chaotic appearance of it.

The huge hexagonal room, with four separate rooms and a last, high door at the back, looked as if a tornado had hit. Glass littered the floor from where it had exploded from the windows and doors of the rooms, and the floor was stained a grimy, bloody red.

_Not just blood. Olivia's blood._

The bloated sharks, one in the middle of the room, barely more than a skeleton, and the rest scattered throughout the place, seemed fitting to the bloody tableau.

J.D glanced at the fourth room, the one closest to his left—the one where Olivia had been. The door was bent in it's frame, it's glass completely shattered; the window wasn't much better. Three of the sharks seemed converged there, two outside and one hanging halfway inside the door, a sight that would have been comical under any other circumstances.

Across the room was one more shark, not including the one ripped open and still lying on the floor—meaning that there was at least one more shark in the shattered room Olivia had been inside.

J.D peered inside the window, trying to see from his distance any traces of Olivia. He wasn't sure what exactly he wanted to find; whether he was looking for proof that she had escaped or some sick sort of confirmation that she had been killed. Something that would at least give him a concrete answer to his unasked questions.

He caught a glimpse of white, and then Rain was striding past him, her MP5 out in front of her as she headed for the room.

He caught her elbow by instinct, yanking her back as he whispered harshly, "Are you fucking insane? Those sharks could be infected, there's no way you're getting in through that door."

One cut was all it would take. One slip sliding in through the glass-less door, and she'd have an open wound that would be infected in this environment in less than a minute.

She glared at him, asking acridly, "You want to find Olivia, don't you?" He nodded mutely, narrowing his eyes at her as she yanked her arm from his grasp, adding, "And I'm not using the fucking door."

He watched as she used the butt of her gun to break off the glass remaining on the window before using the table to pull herself in, irritated at himself for not having considered it as a place of entry before.

He followed her without a word, and both of them were silent as they peered through the mess inside, eighty percent of the furniture toppled and broken.

"J.D." He turned to look at Rain as she lifted a twisted headset from the ground, one he recognized as the ones Olivia, Matt and Alice had been wearing.

He nodded at her before returning to his search, confused at the brilliant flash of hope that'd exploded in him at seeing what was probably Olivia's headset. It didn't prove anything. It wasn't as if he'd thought the fucking sharks would eat the headset as well.

He barked out a laugh at the thought, a reaction completely inappropriate for his mood, for this environment, and he could feel Rain staring at him, her gaze an unnerving mix of scrutiny and concern as he returned to his search.

There was nothing. Nothing to prove she was here, nothing to prove she was gone.

He turned at the sudden noise of machinery, watching out the window as the door began to slowly descend. Looking at Rain, he watched as she bit her lip, taking her hand off the button as she asked, "Find anything?"

He shook his head, wishing he had something more useful to say. Something that would have equivalence roughly to either "Yeah, she's dead" or "Yeah, she must be alive still".

Something that would fucking _mean_ something.

Rain was quiet, and although a part of him understood she simply didn't know what to say, the other part of him wanted to scream at her to say _something._

"You sure picked a bad fucking time to have nothing to say," he said offhandly.

She looked tired, and wary as she glanced at him once before saying, "Let's catch up to Matt and Alice."

He started to nod and then stopped, looking back the way they'd come, at the dark corridor stretching out for what looked like miles. "No."

"What?"

J.D shook his head. "Let's go back the way we came. If Olivia survived, she would have gone that way. She'd look for me."

Rain looked like she was struggling to keep her patience as she answered slowly, "J.D,_ if_ Olivia survived, she would have followed Matt and Alice. It wouldn't make sense for her to turn around and go in a completely different direction."

He shook his head, and snapped, "Are you coming?"

Even as the words left his mouth he could see the resolved look on Rain's face, the tired lines around her eyes, the look of which reminded him somehow of the way both his aunt and Alice looked at him when he acted irrationally.

She wasn't going to follow him. Not this time.

"J.D…" she said, dragging the word out as she seemed to realize there was nothing more to say.

It hit him then, how stupid he was being. That first of all, Olivia was probably dead. Secondly, if—_if_—she'd survived she wouldn't have gone where no one could find her. She was too smart for that.

He spun around and headed for the doorway, feeling Rain fall into step behind him as he walked through the entrance.

They'd been walking for less than five minutes when he heard the first voices up ahead.

Matt, and probably Alice. Arguing, from what he could hear.

He didn't hear Olivia's voice.

He slowed, not wanting to go inside first. He'd been looking for Olivia the entire time, and yet, now that a certain confirmation loomed in front of him, he didn't want to face it.

It was stupid, maybe. That he was so bent out of shape about her. He'd only known her for five days—

_Six,_ he realized, glancing at his watch. It was already two a.m.

He didn't even know her birthday. Her favorite flowers. How many siblings she had. None of the things he'd been told, time and time again, he should know about someone he was with.

All they ever did was fight anymore.

And yet, somehow, he loved her. He didn't know if he could call it falling in love—that seemed over the top somehow.

But he did know he loved her.

He felt Rain come up behind him, and wanted to offer her some explanation. He didn't want to go in there and see her gone, didn't know if he could handle keeping a neutral façade for the whole fucking team.

In the end, he didn't have to explain. Rain squeezed his shoulder, uncharacteristically gentle for her especially under their current relationship, and moved ahead of him.

He followed numbly, barely registering the increasing proximity of their voices until they were less than three feet away from them and Rain was stepping aside, casting a hesitant look over her shoulder at J.D.

He looked up, taking in the scene. Matt and Alice, arguing yet somehow managing the most tender expressions possible.

And beside them, looking at him with obvious worry—

Olivia.

**xxxxx**

The scene that followed was like some sort of fairytale.

Matt was pulled abruptly from his argument with Alice by the sight of J.D actually _running_ towards Olivia, catching her up in a hug before kissing the startled girl like he'd thought he'd never see her again.

He glanced, confused, at Alice. She smirked back at him, her eyes both amused and somehow tender, like a mother proud of her child's achievements. She obviously had no more idea what was going on than he did, but seemed happy for them all the same.

_Plus_, he thought, a wry smile crossing his face, _she probably didn't mind the interruption._

They'd been halfway to the end of the corridor, having met up with Olivia a few moments before, when Alice had stumbled again, swearing under her breath.

She'd straightened, been ready to continue when he'd stopped all of them, Olivia skirting up ahead slightly to watch the corridor as he asked her in a low tone if she was sure she was okay walking.

She responded in her typical tone of indignation—her and Rain could have been twins in that respect—henceforth starting an argument with her well-being playing the main dilemma.

He understood that she didn't want to hold them back, and he understood that, for some exasperating reason, she felt bad for not being able to hold back her fear and worry for him. But he didn't want her physical health to suffer because of it.

Their argument had fallen quickly off concerned tones of worry, heading directly for what could have possibly been an actual fight had J.D and Rain not interrupted at that moment.

He turned to look at Rain then, still standing by the entrance. She, liked the rest of them, was watching Olivia and J.D, who'd moved onto a whispered conversation. Her face was a mixture of relief, annoyance, and sadness, the contrasting expressions flitting across her face as if she simply couldn't decide how to react.

Her eyes met his, and Matt smiled slightly at her, wishing he could do something to help her. It was good that J.D had found someone, but at the same time—he'd grown close to Rain over the last months, especially considering the time they'd spent together in the Hive, and he couldn't help but feel protective of her.

It was funny how different their relationship was from the one Alice and him had developed. While him and Alice were a constant, someone he could always depend on to be stable and gentle, Rain was a complete opposite. Some days her attitude could be funny and tension breaking, and other days it was simply annoying. Some days she surprised him with her more sympathetic side; other days he could predict her reactions without the slightest hesitation.

And while he felt protective over Alice because he loved her, he felt protective over Rain because she somehow inspired that in him, in everyone she loved. Possibly because she was too damn stubborn to admit when she needed help, and possibly because she always seemed to get herself in situations where she needed help.

Still looking at him, then shifting her gaze to Alice, Rain announced, "I'm going to go further up the corridor."

They both nodded minutely as she brushed past them, disappearing up the corridor. Matt glanced back and J.D and Olivia, reengaged in their make-out session, and wondered, with a disconcerting twinge of worry, whether that was exactly what the group had to deal with all the time concerning him and Alice.

He glanced down at her, waiting to her to look at him before asking, "So how's the bandage holding up?"

"It's fine," she said simply. "Although I don't think I particularly need it."

He laughed despite himself, and she grinned at him, nudging him slightly. "You worry too much."

He shrugged. "So do you," he pointed out.

Something darkened in her eyes, though she continued to look at him, and he wished there was some way to politely take back the words. "It's day six, Matt."

He nodded, not knowing what to say. She opened her mouth, clearly wanting to say something else—and stopped, looking away from him and back to J.D and Olivia.

"What?" he asked quietly, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "Alice?"

"It's a dead end," Rain announced, walking back into the room.

They all turned to look at her—and then, as a group, at Alice, as if waiting for some sort of reaction.

Alice just sighed. "Another dead end," she said dully.

They were back to the beginning again.

With only two days left to go.

**xxxxx**

"So how was the mission, exactly?" Michael asked offhandly.

The five of them had returned a couple of hours ago, just a few minutes past three a.m., looking exhausted and upset. Alice had barely responded to any of his questions, only barking that they were going to start searching the labs in the morning after an eight hour rest period.

The blonde had been uncharacteristically short with him, with everyone—and had seemed on the verge of tears. Michael wasn't the only one who'd noticed Matt pull her into a hug, whispering something to her as the group had begun assorting their sleeping things again.

They were all asleep now, everyone having practically collapsed as soon as they'd closed their eyes. Even Rain was asleep this time, J.D staying up to guard with Matt instead.

"Could have been worse," J.D said thoughtfully. "We didn't find the anti-virus, Alice got hurt—but the shark wasn't infected, and we all got out okay. We're all alive."

Michael raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, Rain told me about Alice and the sharks. She mentioned something about Olivia, too."

J.D glanced at him in surprise, nodding slightly. "Yeah. She was, uh, in the room with the sharks when we were trying to find the drainage switch—we heard breaking glass, shit like that—"

He broke off, quieting slightly as he added, "I thought she was dead."

Michael nodded, not wanting to interrupt him or intrude, and he continued.

"Her headset went dead, it went into the water—she got out though. She was able to crawl through one of the windows, make it into one of the other rooms until we drained the place."

Michael nodded again. "And she's okay?"

J.D nodded. "Yeah. She was lucky."

He looked tired, worn out, and Michael didn't know what to say to him. He'd spoken to everyone in the group sometime or another, but rarely to J.D—he was still a fairly unknown quality to him.

Finally he chose a topic completely absent from the one they were on, but something he'd wanted to talk to him for days regarding. "You should talk to her."

J.D looked over at him, his expression confused. "Olivia?"

He shook his head. "Rain."

J.D's face went blank, like he was attempting to keep a neutral expression, and he sighed. "Rain doesn't—"

"Of course she does."

J.D looked at him, a distinctly irritated expression on his face now. "What exactly makes you think she'd listen to me?"

"You're her friend," he said simply. "She may be pissed at you, but your still her goddamn friend, you know."

J.D looked frustrated, letting out a sharp intake of breath as he said, "I don't even know what to say to her."

Michael shrugged, watching his legs as he swung them back and forth underneath the table. "Tell her she can trust you."

J.D looked surprised, then angry. "I'm pretty sure she already fucking knows that, Michael."

"Does she?" he countered. J.D's expression had taken on a distinctly dark edge now, and part of him wondered where these words were coming from. "J.D, she doesn't trust Olivia. Right now, everything you say and do is influenced by her. Why _should_ she still trust you?"

J.D's expression was still murderous, and Michael let out a sharp sigh. "Look, just talk to her, okay? At least tell her that."

For a long time J.D didn't answer, and Michael concentrated on kicking at the table leg, on the abstract designs over the carpet as he wondered if J.D was going to deck him. Michael was rarely this forward with anyone, and especially with J.D, whom he'd barely spoken a word of personal conversation to before.

Rain clearly had a bad influence on him.

He couldn't help a small smile at that thought, a smile that remained on his face when J.D finally said, his voice tired, "I'll talk to her. In the morning."

Michael nodded. He had no idea how their conversation was going to go, if J.D would even stick to what he'd just said. For all he knew, he'd just started World War III all over again.

But it was out there. Rain's and J.D's cards, scattered all over the table for the other to see.

What happened now was in their hands.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Awake In The Darkness

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes:

Thanks again to those who have reviewed Into the Light thus far, particularly for chapter twelve: masked-in-your-shadows, rain1657, XMaster, Faded Writer, Darkside Alexis, Schneebly, and Hellspawn. Please again remember to leave your emails with your reviews so I can thank you for them and answer any questions you have. Thanks goes out also to all those who read and don't review, even though I beg you—continuously—to do so. It's still very appreciated.

Regarding thank you notes. I just don't have time to write them right now, and I am sorry about that. I'll write everyone back as soon as I can, probably this weekend.

And to all the new reviewers… firstly, welcome :) Secondly, because it's been questioned a few times now, updates are always every second Friday.

I'm very excited about this chapter. It's one that I've had planned out since before I even wrapped up "Fading Away", so it was fun writing it. It's my longest chapter yet, lol. And guess who's back? (Not Kaplan. Sorry. Just someone who's been rather AWOL lately)

And another thing… I don't know if there's going to be a third part to this trilogy. It's just—I've spent two years on this already, and it's getting hard to continue. Some days all that makes me write is the knowledge that all of you are waiting for an update and deserve one for being such fantastic reviewers:) But… I don't know. Maybe I'll just make it a quick wrap-up of events instead; it seems so unfair to leave so much in the air to you reviewers. I'll let you know what's happening when I decide, but all comments on this are muchly appreciated.

Still hate fanfiction (dot) net, for those wondering.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Thirteen: Awake in the Darkness

The phone was ringing.

William sat back patiently to wait. Patience wasn't in his nature, wasn't even a part of his vocabulary usually, but for this, he could wait.

He'd been surprised, despite himself, at Olivia's refusal to betray Umbrella's ex-S.W.A.T. team. At her refusal to betray people she barely even knew.

He scoffed slightly. Clearly, Olivia was even less intelligent than he'd remembered her as being.

But it didn't matter. Unfortunately, Olivia's part was now almost necessary to his plan for the team. He supposed he could probably, if he had to, manage without her, but… it was so much more simpler with her doing her part, and William preferred things to run smoothly.

So he'd taken some time to think about it. He was packed up now, ready to get the hell out of Raccoon. Apart from a few specific files—those of the Hive included—the memory on his database had been erased, leaving nothing for Crawford to find should he look for him.

And even if something went wrong with the files… Raccoon was going to be decimated by the time Crawford got around to sending more teams down here. It was unfortunate, but William didn't see any other way around it. The longer Raccoon City stood infected and zombie-ridden, the more likely any chances of the rest of the world finding out about Umbrella's involvement became.

So William had packed, made preparations. Less than a day after he left Raccoon, the city would be nothing but ash.

Unfortunately, that left nothing for William to do but think about this situation with Olivia. He'd watched the monitors for the past few days, observing their haphazard efforts to find the anti-virus with nothing more than slight amusement. It was a useless effort; Addison had less than two days left now. To put it bluntly, he was completely fucked.

Some people thought he was cruel to let them suffer that way. Word had quickly gotten out among his higher workers of the ex-S.W.A.T. team's presence in the Hive.

But he wasn't doing this only for his own amusement or research. He was doing this for Lea. If they got out, they'd stop at nothing to ensure the world knew what Umbrella had done.

That would mean prison for William. At the very least. And Lea… who knew what would happen to her if he was gone?

Really, he had the best of intentions.

Eventually he'd come to a conclusion, watching the slow decay of the relationships down in the Hive. Particularly the tension between Olivia Alderic and Rain Ocampo.

Forcing Olivia to betray the entire team—particularly J.D—was damn near impossible.

But with a bit of encouragement, he could push her in the right direction.

The ringing stopped.

"Hello?"

Olivia's voice, sleep-ridden and tired. She'd gotten up, concealing the phone, and moved off into a room adjacent to the one they were all sleeping in—including Michael and J.D.

Pretty inefficient guards, all things considered. They were lucky they weren't working for him.

"Olivia," he said smoothly. He would have once called her 'Ms. Alderic', but times were tense and chivalry was an effort he didn't have time for anymore. "How's the search going?"

Even from here he could see her eyes narrow, and smirked despite himself as she answered edgily, "I'm pretty sure you already know."

"I do," he acknowledged. "Which is why I called. To offer you a deal."

She sighed. "I already told you, I'm not backstabbing these people. If that's your suggestion, Archangelo, you can go to hell."

"Of course not," he lied smoothly. "I do, however, need a favor from you."

She didn't answer, and he continued. "I need to know, that, should I release you all, you'll stay quiet. You'll disappear into the woodwork, and this'll all fade away."

Her eyes were dark with suspicion as she said, "You're just going to trust me at my word?"

"It's all I need to do," he said simply. "You drop your end of the bargain, Umbrella will take _care_ of it before I even know about it."

There was silence, and then Olivia said, "And what exactly are you going to give us in return?"

William smiled, watching onscreen as she tensed. J.D had woken up.

"The anti-virus."

**xxxxx**

J.D awoke feeling like his head had been detached from his body. His neck screamed in pain, and his head felt cloudy and dim.

As he opened his eyes, taking stock in the world around him, he realized that he'd fallen asleep across the table, his head and shoulders hanging over the edge like a limp rag doll.

Putting his hand to his head he sat up slowly, glancing around him.

Michael was asleep in one of the chairs on the far end of the table, his head lolling off to the side in a lesser interpretation of the same rag-doll pose J.D had woken up in.

Everyone else was still asleep, sprawled out over sleeping bags and the floor.

J.D frowned. There was something wrong, something he couldn't place—

"And what exactly are you going to give us in return?"

Olivia's voice, quiet and muffled, and he realized she was no longer in her sleeping bag.

He glanced towards the sound of her voice, seeing her enclosed in the small room offside their own. She met his gaze through the window and then turned away, glancing down as she hung up her phone.

J.D glanced blearily at his watch. 5 am.

Who the fuck was Olivia talking to at this hour?

The guilty expression on her face all but gave her answer as she slipped the cell into her pocket.

Archangelo.

She came back into the room, and before he could say anything, he heard Rain's voice as she asked harshly, "Talking to Archangelo again?"

He looked at her in surprise where she was sitting up in her sleeping bag. He hadn't even heard her wake up.

"I didn't—" Olivia stammered slightly, looking at him as if for help. J.D just shrugged. "Yeah."

"Why?" he asked her, unwilling to believe that it was for malicious intent and unable to leave it at that.

She shrugged slightly, offered a weak smile. "He wants me to betray you guys, actually, to get my way out of here."

Rain snorted slightly. "And what, you're taking him up on his offer?"

J.D sighed. "Rain."

"I told him to fuck off, actually," Olivia corrected her.

She glared at him, completely ignoring Olivia. "What, you're just going to take her word on it?"

He sighed again. Why was he always in the fucking middle? "Rain, why would she have told us if she was planning on actually following through on that?"

"Umm," Olivia said. They both looked at her, and she sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I know this is making it hard for you to trust me. Just—I can't make you trust me, but I can honestly say that I'm not going to take him up on his offers. I promise."

"Thanks," Rain said sarcastically. "I feel so much better now."

"_Rain._"

She glared at him. "I think we should disconnect her fucking phone."

"Look." Olivia again. "Can we talk about this in the morning? I promise I'll let you all know what's going on then. But it's eight a.m., and like I said, there's nothing I can say right now that's going to make you trust me."

Rain stared at her, then turned and left, opening the door and slamming it closed behind her.

J.D let out a sigh of pure exasperation, and Olivia looked at him apologetically. "J.D, I'm sorry. I swear I'm not working with Archangelo."

He nodded, forcing a small smile. "I know. I trust you."

And the funny thing was, he did. Maybe it was a stupid thing to do, but Olivia was an honest person by nature. If she was lying to him, that made all of her previous actions—telling them about Umbrella, explaining Archangelo's phone calls, completely backwards.

He leaned forward, kissing her gently on the forehead, and said, "I'm going to go check on Rain."

She nodded, looking slightly irritated but grudgingly understanding, and he almost laughed at the two conflicting emotions playing across her face.

And then he stood and left the room.

Rain was still in the hallway when he closed the door, obviously waiting for him, and he couldn't help but marvel at her ability to predict his reactions to her behavior.

She was pacing up and down, obviously pissed, and he couldn't really blame her for it. Olivia's story was difficult to believe even for him, and Rain hadn't trusted her from day one.

"Rain," he started, and she wasted no time, getting into it right away.

"She's leading us into a trap, J.D."

He shook his head. "You don't know that, Rain."

She glared at him. "What proof do you have that she's not?"

There wasn't exactly a reasonable answer to that, and so he said carefully, "Look, Rain, don't you think you're making it a little personal here?"

She stopped and turned to look at him. "_Personal,_ J.D?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She barked out a laugh. "You're the one who's fucking her and won't listen to a goddamn bad word about her—"

"Hey!" he barked at her. "Back off, Rain. That was fucking uncalled for."

She stared at him thoughtfully, obviously realizing exactly how upset he was as she answered, "Fine, I'm sorry. But I'm not the only one making it fucking _personal_, J.D."

A silence followed, during which Rain narrowed her eyes at him, obviously wanting either a vehement denial or outright confirmation from him. J.D just shrugged, unsure of what exactly to say to that.

Finally loosing patience, Rain spun and grabbed the door handle, obviously giving up on her fight, and J.D grabbed her elbow. "Look, Rain, would you just trust me?"

She laughed at that, and he realized, with a sickening sense of dread, that maybe Michael had been right about what he'd said. "That's easier said than done, J.D."

He let go of her arm automatically, hurt despite himself as he stated, "You don't trust me."

Rain shrugged. "I don't trust Olivia, why should I trust you?"

Irritation won out over rationalization, and he snapped, "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you love her?"

The question came out of nowhere, blindsiding him, and he stared at her as if trying to discern whether or not she was serious. "What?"

She just raised an eyebrow at him, and he felt his face heat up as he asked hotly, "What exactly does that have to do with anything?"

"Yes or no, J.D," she continued, completely unaffected. "It shouldn't be this difficult to answer."

"Yes," he said vehemently, glaring at her. "Yeah, I do. So what?"

She shrugged. "So love fucks with your head," she said shortly, staring at him. "Everything you say and do is about her. How the hell am I supposed to know I'm listening to your opinions and not hers?"

He shook his head, exasperated. "That doesn't even make any sense!"

She shook her head, obviously disgusted. "Forget it, J.D."

She turned to storm out again, but he grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to face him. "Look. Whatever you believe, Rain, you can trust me. Okay? I care about you. I would do anything, fucking _anything_, to keep you and the rest of the group safe—even if that means going against Olivia."

That shook her, and he could tell by the momentary flash in her eyes before she turned her head away, and the uncertainty in her tone as she answered, "Whatever, J.D."

He nodded slightly, and then, unable to help himself, added, "But I'm not going to turn against Olivia until you prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, that she poses a threat."

She was more herself again as she snapped, "Fine," pulling away and stomping back into the room. He didn't stop her this time.

Instead he stood there, knowing that his words were true, knowing that, if it came down to it, he'd betray Olivia to protect Rain and the rest of the group.

And knowing that, despite that knowledge, he hoped he'd never have to put it to the test.

**xxxxx**

Archangelo never wasted time.

He was a self-involved, arrogant asshole. He had no qualms whatsoever about forcing others to do work that he himself took credit for. And he lied more frequently than most people spoke.

But he always had a schedule to suit his arrogant, self-minded personality, and never once did he compromise that schedule with anything so mundane as common decency.

That's why Olivia was lying underneath the blanket of her sleeping bag, eyes screwed shut in the picture of innocent sleep, her cell phone clutched in sweaty hands and ears pricked for the sound of people awakening or the phone ringing.

She didn't have to wait long.

The phone announced itself with a shrill ring, and she pressed it into the blanket underneath her, covering up the sound with her hands as she scrambled out of the sleeping bag as quickly and quietly as was humanly possible.

She stole a glance at the room's occupants before the scurried into the adjoining room—they were all asleep again. Even J.D, who, despite his admonitions of trusting her, had faked sleep for a good three hours before actually falling asleep again.

She wasn't sure whether or not he trusted her. He loved her, she knew that—but Rain hated her. Rain didn't trust her; and despite how many times Olivia tried to tell herself that it wouldn't matter to J.D, that it wouldn't affect his opinion of her, she couldn't help but worry.

She flipped the phone open, leaning against the desk inside the room to catch her breath as she said, "Archangelo."

"So do we have a deal?"

She couldn't help but be astounded at his complete lack of preamble as she responded, hissing quietly, "What _deal,_ Archangelo? You didn't tell me anything."

She heard him sigh arrogantly over the phone, like her stupidity was both astonishing and painful to behold, and then, sounding bored: "I give you the anti-virus and open the main doors so you have a chance, albeit a very slim one, to escape. Whether you choose to bring your newfound friends with you or not is of no interest to me. _If_ you manage to escape, you destroy all evidence of your time with Umbrella and never speak of this again."

Olivia hesitated. The words were clear and contained nearly everything she'd wanted to hear, and a part of her wanted to just believe him. To drown out everything, including her instincts, and focus only on that tiny ray of optimism.

Yet that simple instinct, that pure understanding of the way Archangelo's plans generally included a private twist amusing only to him, made her say instead, "I don't believe you."

He sounded amused this time as he responded, "There is one more factor."

Olivia bit back a frustrated sigh, knowing that Archangelo's extra factor could either make or break her final decision. "What?"

"Rain Ocampo."

Olivia did sigh this time, unable to appreciate the irony of Archangelo being the only one who apparently shared her apprehensive views of Rain. "What about her?"

"Eliminate her."

She barked out a harsh laugh before lowering her tone slightly to whisper, "Were you not listening earlier? I'm not going to hurt anyone on the team, and that's final."

"Funny," he responded, his voice deceptively smooth. "I would think Rain would only be too happy to give up her own life if it meant saving Addison's."

"I don't—" Olivia cut herself off. "Why Rain?"

The answer was pure, simple, and uncomfortably close to her own feelings. "She doesn't trust you."

She forced a careless shrug, knowing that, somewhere, Archangelo was watching her. "So what? She hasn't trusted me since I first got here, why would that matter?"

Archangelo laughed over the phone, and she couldn't help but wince at the sound of it. Whenever Archangelo laughed, it meant he knew something she didn't, something she should know. "Do you really think you're that important to J.D Salinas, Olivia? That he would take your word over Rain's?"

"Yes," she said instantly. The words were strong and confident, belying the nervous ache in her stomach. What was he getting at?

His voice was almost pitying as he responded, "Take a look at your phone, Ms. Alderic."

She did, spacing out the screen so it was wider and configuring the volume levels.

The screen went dark, and then J.D and Rain, their images grainy and colorless, filled the screen; obviously a video clipped from the security cameras in the Hive.

They were both speaking in angry tones, their expressions intense, and she felt momentarily uncomfortable listening to the file until she heard her name.

_"I don't trust Olivia, why should I trust you?"_

She couldn't help but smile at the words. Was this the 'evidence' Archangelo was trying to persuade her with? It was nothing she hadn't heard before. Olivia didn't particularly like Rain, but if there was one thing the brunette was, it was honest, and bluntly so.

Then Rain asked, _"Do you love her?"_ and Olivia, both curious and afraid of the answer, turned up the volume slightly.

J.D answered in the affirmative, and despite having expected the words and the flash of happiness they brought about, Olivia hadn't expected the sudden guilt that washed over her in waves. This was a private conversation, and she was sitting here listening to it like she was at a movie or something.

She raised her hand to the dial, ready to at least flick off the volume—

And then J.D's next words, shockingly loud, filled the speakers.

_"I would do anything, fucking anything, to keep you and the rest of the group safe—even if that means going against Olivia."_

She just stared at the phone, trying to decide how she felt about it, trying to reassure herself that it didn't mean anything, trying to get her emotions back under control—

Archangelo didn't give her time. The image flicked out before anymore was said, and she lifted the phone to her ear automatically, listening as Archangelo asked smugly, "Still sure he's on your side, Olivia?"

"He's not—" She shook her head slightly. "I don't care. The answer is still no, Archangelo."

And still she stood there, the phone glued to her ear, unable to quench the desperation still coursing through her. Blind, unreasonable hope that they could still work something out for the anti-virus, that the video didn't mean anything—that J.D hadn't just betrayed her.

Archangelo laughed. "Well, luckily for you, I wasn't speaking in reference to killing Ms. Ocampo."

"So?" she asked, tired of his games. "What were you saying?"

"Look at your phone, Ms. Alderic."

She did as she was told, watching as a room lit up on the map splayed across the screen, one she recognized as the large, circular office room they'd come across a couple of days ago on their way to Lab B18.

The camera zoomed in on the wide, circular column set into the middle of the room, and Archangelo began to speak.

"Inside that column is a short staircase leading down into a circular room. Inside that room are three doors; one leads directly back upstairs into the office rooms—"

"And the others?"

"Are of no concern to you," he answered smoothly. "You know the password to open the doors and where the panels are, I expect?"

"Same as the doorway itself?" she guessed warily. Every code to every room in the Hive was already firmly implemented into her brain; the ones she hadn't already known she'd used the files Michael and Rain had found to memorize.

"Of course," he said. "All you need to do, Ms. Alderic, is get Rain into that room and leave. I'll take care of the rest."

"The rest?"

"I'll lock her inside," he clarified. "She'll be just fine until you and your friends come back to collect her."

"And the anti-virus?"

"I'll send you the co-ordinates of it's location at 12 a.m. exactly on Day Eight."

"Day eight?" Olivia couldn't keep the edge out of her voice as she hissed, "Archangelo, Matt doesn't have _time_ for your fucking games!"

Archangelo's voice was cool as he replied, "It's your choice Olivia. Promise not to expose Umbrella, take care of the situation with Rain, and I'll give you your anti-virus. Take it or leave it."

She wanted to say no. Every fiber in her being, every moral aspect of her character screamed at her to refuse, not to betray the team that way.

And yet that nagging part of her brain, the same part that kept playing the goddamn video, kept whispering out undeniable logic. Saying that J.D, Rain, all of them would understand—Matt would have the anti-virus, after all.

"You have to promise that nothing will happen to Rain," she said, trying to sound tough and hating herself for the wavering, uncertain tone that escaped instead.

Archangelo's voice answered, smooth and assured as he drawled, "Ms. Alderic, I give you my word."

She hesitated once.

"You have yourself a deal."

**xxxxx**

"We have twenty four different labs to go through before Friday," Alice said flatly, leaning back in her chair, the file balanced in her lap.

She could almost feel Michael shifting nervously across from her as Matt laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We still have two days, Alice—"

"One and a half," she mumbled tiredly.

"One and a half days," Matt continued firmly, undeterred. "Alice, it's enough. We're all working together, and if the anti-virus is down here, we'll find it."

She sighed, leaning against him slightly as she mumbled, "I wish I could be as confidant as you about all this."

She was surprised to feel him stiffen underneath her, and then, as a sudden flash of resigned understanding went through her, she pulled away just in time to avoid falling on her face as Matt stood. "You _are_ strong enough, Alice. I'm sick of telling you that—"

"Matt—" Michael started, and Alice sent him a look as Matt snarled, "Stay out of this, Michael."

"Do you know how fucking sick I am of you whining about this?" he continued, turning to stare at Alice again. "You're not even the one who's fucking infected."

That stung, despite her efforts to distance herself from his words, and Michael looked outraged. Alice gave him an almost imperceptible shake of her head, warning him not to say anything.

In the past few days, Matt's temper had been steadily worsening. Nothing they hadn't expected, but Alice had the most experience with the Matt/Nemesis fluctuations and knew that, as long as they stayed quiet, it'd blow over fairly quickly.

She was just glad Rain was sitting a few meters away with J.D, talking rather than arguing for once. There was no way she would have been able to keep the brunette from responding, especially considering her own recent moods.

Matt cut himself off suddenly and Alice refocused on him as he crumpled visibly, the anger fading from his expression. "Alice, I'm sorry—"

"No," she said automatically. "Don't, Matt."

He pulled her into a hug and she returned it almost automatically as he placed a soft kiss on her neck.

She couldn't help but feel guilty. Matt had been peculiar lately, shifting between sudden rages and his own genial, if quiet, mood—but his complaints had always been so ridiculous, she'd known he hadn't meant anything he'd just said.

This time, though, was different. She knew that with the fear Matt was feeling, her own worry and despair over their consistently failing efforts was only acting as a catalyst to his own hidden emotions. She should have been comforting him, reassuring _him_ instead of it being the other way around.

And yet she couldn't understand the way Matt was so able to hide his emotions away, hold this faith in such an improbable outcome. How he could trust the team, trust _her_ so inexplicably with his life.

She heard a sudden commotion behind her and pulled away slightly, turning to look back behind her, Matt's arms still around her.

Olivia was approaching Rain and J.D, looking hesitant. "About this morning—"

"I think _you_ should tell the group about what happened this morning," Rain said sharply.

"Rain," J.D cut her off, and looked up at Olivia. "Don't worry about it. I trust you."

Rain sent him a sharp look, and he glared at her. Alice watched with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her to blow up at him, and was surprised when the two simply shared a brief nod of understanding.

Olivia, not noticing, continued. "Okay," she said uncertainly. "I really think it'd be better if we talked about this though—"

"Fuck off, Olivia," Rain said simply.

Olivia looked outraged. Rain looked bored. And J.D simply closed his eyes and stared at the ceiling, obviously not wanting to put himself into the middle again.

Apparently noticing that they were looking, Rain glanced over and asked, "So are we leaving yet?"

Olivia closed her mouth, casting a slightly mutinous look at J.D, who only shrugged. Rain smirked, obviously well aware of what was going on with the two people next to her, and Alice couldn't help letting out an exasperated laugh.

Rain was being a bitch where Olivia was concerned. The whole team knew that.

But Alice also knew from experience that Rain was stubborn, and would never, ever submit to a lecture from her over the subject.

"Yeah, we're leaving."

**xxxxx**

"Nothing. Nada. Nyet. Nein. N—"

"Would you _stop,_ Rain?" Matt asked sharply.

The brunette glanced up, looking like she wanted to argue; and then, seeing the look on his face, stopped.

Alice sighed, feeling slightly guilty for the last two words. Having a Russian mother and growing up in Germany had given her a fairly wide grasp of both languages, and during their time in the Spencer mansion, Rain had decided to learn both.

To the surprise of no one, after learning a few choice swear words and phrases, she'd given up on them. Alice, however, hadn't actually expected her to retain any of what she'd learned so far. She hadn't employed the swears, after all—although that could have simply been because she was so well acquainted with the English versions already.

She sighed again, realizing that she was just avoiding the point.

Rain's words were just words, mumbled to herself in an attempt to keep her thoughts from the same subject Alice herself was avoiding.

Thirteen labs today, and no results.

They hadn't even seen any monsters, which made Alice tense about the prospects of tomorrow. They'd been in the higher floors, where all the zombies and less dangerous—if there was such a thing, in the Hive—mutations had migrated towards.

Tomorrow they explored the last eleven rooms, traveling deeper into the Hive, and Alice had a sinking feeling that they'd be paying for today's relatively easy mission with a hellish one tomorrow.

They had all ended up in the office room Matt had found Lisa inside, a fact which made Matt obviously uncomfortable; he'd insisted on checking the room three times, Alice accompanying him once—it was all he'd allow.

Neither of them had seen Lisa.

Alice had no idea where she'd gone; if she'd been eaten by her fellow virus-carriers, or just disintegrated, rotting into ashes and melding into the carpet.

They'd set out their sleeping bags, cleared some space. The room wasn't exactly enviable for protection, and so whoever was guarding tonight would be traveling back and forth around the circular room, watching through the windows for any signs of trouble.

Not for the first time, Alice thought wearily that they should have found another room to stay in. Something less exposed.

But Olivia had suggested the room when they'd passed it, quite possibly because half the rooms in the Hive were spaced out and hidden on this floor, and Alice—all of them—had been too tired to argue the point.

Yet instead of sleeping, they were sitting in a circle on the floor, as if around some stupid campfire, going over their plan of action for tomorrow.

Alice glanced at Michael, trying to refocus on his words—

Rain yawned.

Michael stopped talking, and they all turned to stare at her; Rain looked too tired to care. "Sorry."

Alice saw Matt's brow furrow, his mouth twist into a frown, and headed him off before he could blow up at her. Not exactly a reasonable course of action, considering that interruptions only served to irritate him further, but letting him and Rain get into it would be suicide. They only had three anti-virus capsules left to last them over three days, and Matt's reaction to them weakened every time they were used.

The strains of the virus in him were obviously adapting themselves to fight off the weaker version of the anti-virus by now.

"Rain's right," she said simply. "Sorry, Michael. But we're all tired, and I think we pretty much have tomorrow figured out; we should get some sleep, and start fresh tomorrow."

Nobody looked like they wanted to argue. Matt brushed his hair back from his face, asking wearily, "Who's guarding?"

"I will," Rain volunteered instantly.

"Me too," J.D stated.

Alice glanced at them, wondering what was up with the two; less than a day ago, they couldn't even be trusted in the same room together.

She knew it had something to do with Olivia; something had happened, something neither felt the need to inform her, Matt, or Michael about.

For once, Alice was glad about that. She didn't need J.D's little love triangle further complicating things right now.

"Good," she said simply. "Good. We'll go to sleep, J.D and Rain will guard, and we'll set off at—"

She checked her watch. It was past two a.m. already, and she sighed. "Seven. Five hours or so, is that enough?"

Michael shrugged. "It'll have to be, I guess," he said simply.

Rain shrugged, grabbing her gun as she stood, nudging J.D slightly. "Let's go."

He got up and followed the brunette, and Alice didn't miss the worried, suspicious glance Olivia cast them both as she got up and headed for her sleeping bag.

Her expression was almost guilty as she unfolded her sleeping bag, lying down in it.

Matt left abruptly, not sparing either of them a glance, and Alice breathed a heavy sigh, knowing he was still upset.

Knowing that the tension, the fearful recognition of the time they had left hanging over all their heads was finally starting to affect him too.

"Alice?" Michael asked quietly.

She turned to look at him, surprised at the sincerity in his face. There were times when he could look so young, so much younger than all of them. It wasn't because of his age—

Rain was younger than him, and she rarely, if ever, had that sort of expression.

It was because Michael had yet to be fully infiltrated into their world, to be exposed to Umbrella. He'd already become a part of their team, but with a lack of their experience, he still had a look of innocence to him, almost painful to see.

"He's going to be okay," Michael said, his tone reassuring if not slightly uncomfortable, and Alice smiled, grateful for his words.

"Thanks, Michael."

But even as she gave him a quick, spontaneous hug, one he returned with no small degree of sincere awkwardness, and headed back to her sleeping bag, she couldn't align herself to what he had just said, couldn't make herself believe it would all be okay.

They were just words, after all.

**xxxxx**

Matt, Alice and Michael were sleeping. Olivia was either faking sleep or actually sleeping, Rain wasn't sure which.

And no one was guarding.

Her and J.D had both talked it over that morning, and decided that the safest plan was to just pretend nothing had happened. Not Rain's favorite course of action, but J.D was right about one thing—if Olivia thought this had all blown over, she'd fuck up again. If she knew they were watching her, she'd be hyper-alert, and probably find some other way to contact Archangelo.

Rain was willing to bet Olivia had more than just a business relationship with Archangelo. She'd run the thought by J.D this morning, knowing that it would piss him off but wanting his opinion on it anyway, and he'd responded with almost comical shock. Apparently he didn't think it was even remotely possible, considering the terms she'd described him with before.

She'd told him that he wasn't the most objective person to decide, he'd shrugged and said you couldn't ever tell with a person, and then hit her with the disturbing news that Olivia was apparently firmly positive that her and J.D had or were having some illicit affair or something.

That's when Olivia, somewhat thankfully—though Rain would never admit it to her—had intervened, and Rain hadn't brought it up again.

Still, it was fucked up, the idea of her and J.D. It would never work, for one thing. When J.D pissed Rain off, she ignored him. When Rain pissed him off, he either ignored her or fought with her.

But if they were actually in a relationship, they'd have to _talk_ about their issues. And no matter what Rain did, she simply couldn't imagine them actually sitting down and talking and playing house like Matt and Alice were so familiar with doing.

In short, it was a fucked up idea, but Rain wasn't surprised Olivia had thought it. She barely even knew the girl, and she could already tell she was a worse 'hopeless romantic' than Alice.

Olivia shifted suddenly, and Rain honed in on the sound. She still couldn't tell whether Olivia was sleeping or not, and stifled a moan of frustration as she rolled over onto her back.

This was fucking stupid too. Besides a ten minute stretch, during which she'd actually fallen asleep before being awoken by Michael's horrifically loud snoring, she'd been lying awake for two hours now, waiting for her to get up and do something suspicious.

It was part of the plan, yeah. They'd decided to 'fall asleep' on the job and thus be able to watch Olivia without her knowledge.

Except J.D had made his expectations of Olivia actually engaging in suspicious activity pretty clear when he'd fallen asleep—for real—ten minutes after starting 'guard duty'.

So now she was lying here on her own, doing nothing in particular, and thinking about how she was going to kill J.D the next morning. Whether she caught Olivia doing something suspicious or stayed awake all night doing nothing, there would be hell to pay when J.D woke up in the morning.

Olivia sat up.

Rain's senses were instantly on hyper-alert. Eyes still closed, she shifted again slightly, wondering if she should bother with a fake snore or some other sleeping noises.

Olivia stood slowly, and Rain realized there was no point in bothering; Olivia wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to her surroundings.

She peeked one eye open, watching as Olivia gave the room one cursory glance before grabbing a handgun off the table and a knapsack—_her_ knapsack—slinging it over her shoulders and hurrying off.

She was leaving. She was taking whatever she'd stuffed into Rain's knapsack and actually _leaving._

Rain muffled a swear into her pillow, pissed at J.D for putting her in this situation. If she stopped to wake him up, there's no way she'd reach Olivia in time.

In the end she slid out of her sleeping bag, grabbing her gun from the floor beside her and following where Olivia had disappeared.

She stopped next to the inner column, holding her gun up and out of view as she peered around the corner.

Olivia stood there, looking nervous and tense as she finished typing numbers into a keypad—

And then the wall, the fucking _wall,_ moved out of the way, and Olivia glanced once more around her, lowering her gun to her side.

Her gaze reached the edge of the column, where Rain stood—and then dropped, even as Rain tensed, prepared to move out of sight range. Hoisting the knapsack on her shoulders, she walked inside.

Rain started to follow—and then stopped, feeling, for the first time, an intuitive knowledge that she was being set-up somehow.

There was no way Olivia was escaping into a concrete column.

For a moment, Rain glanced back at the team, at their sleeping forms, and debated waking them up.

The thought was pushed from her mind as quickly as it'd come. She had her weapon, she could handle Olivia.

She stepped forward into the light, not hesitating once as she stepped into the column.

It was blank, and empty, and a staircase set into the floor beckoned to her almost before she had even stepped into the room.

Olivia was gone, had probably gone down the staircase, and Rain pulled out J.D's lighter, still in her possession and comfortably heavy as she flicked it on, lighting up the darkness and casting shadows into the corners as she descended the stairs.

The first thing she noticed about the dimly lighted room she stepped into was that it was tiny, and the three doors it contained were heavy wood and closed—

And that besides her knapsack, propped carefully in the corner now, the room was empty.

Olivia was gone.

Rain's frown of confusion quickly turned into a scowl of annoyance, and she turned to head for the stairs—

And saw that they were gone. Somehow, in the twenty seconds she'd been standing here, staring around her, a concrete wall had slid down, effectively trapping her inside the room.

**xxxxx**

Olivia hurried up the stairs and out of the room, already feeling a smothering sense of guilt.

_It's okay,_ she told herself, trying to believe the words. _Rain will be fine, if not completely pissed off at you, and Matt will get the anti-virus. We'll all get out of here._

She forced herself not to glance at Rain's empty sleeping bag as she crawled into her own. Not to think about the bullets she'd taken from Rain's gun when the brunette had fallen asleep momentarily and slid underneath one of the computer stations. It was overkill, maybe, but Rain was a good shot and Olivia hadn't trusted Archangelo to get her out of that room without a fight.

But everything would be okay. Rain would be fine. Olivia had stuffed enough food and water—plus a book of crossword puzzles Michael had apparently smuggled into his own bag—into the knapsack she'd left down there for Rain.

They would get up tomorrow, and Olivia would stall until they could get the anti-virus. They would cure Matt, she'd admit what she'd done, and they come back and rescue Rain.

She just hoped that J.D would be able to forgive her. Would understand why she'd done it.

Olivia squeezed her eyes shut as she dropped her head onto her pillow.

_Everything will be okay._

She repeated the words in her mind, shoving the strains of worry away as she forced herself to fall asleep.

**xxxxx**

Feeling the first start of unease, Rain asked, "Olivia?"

Nobody answered, and she hurried forward, yanking on each door, realizing that they were all locked, that if Olivia had even been in here, she was gone now. "God damn it!"

She was trapped inside an empty room, with no idea how to get out—how would they even be able to hear her upstairs?

And then the lights went out. Rain forced herself to breathe, flicking her lighter back on and lifting her gun as she asked again, forcing a tougher tone into her voice, "Olivia?"

Both doors on either side of her opened, and although she wanted to hurry forward and see who was there, what they were doing, something held her back.

Someone shuffled into the room, and Rain held the lighter further out in front of her, feeling like a wimp but unwilling to move closer—

And the figure turned it's head towards the sudden light, letting out a throaty moan, and she felt her breath catch as she saw it was a virus carrier, it's brains and blood matted into it's hair—

And then the moaning was increasing in sound and she realized suddenly that there was more of them, that they'd be pouring through the doors soon—

She had backed up into the concrete wall, and something bumped into her back. Reaching behind her, she realized it was another panel, a solid loop set into the top.

She remembered suddenly the gun in her hand, and, feeling desperately stupid, pulled it up, aiming it at the first of the zombies as it shuffled closer to her, pulling the trigger—

Nothing happened. A dry, raspy click seemed to echo through her brain, and she realized with a thud of horror that it was empty, that Olivia had stolen her fucking _bullets—_

She swallowed, dropping the gun uselessly beside her and, with a last look at the lighter, letting it flicker into darkness.

She let her body move into autopilot, punching, kicking, elbowing the virus carriers as they crowded in around her, and for a moment it worked. She could hear the sickening crack of bone as she snapped another's neck—

And then one had managed to get in close enough to latch it's mouth around her neck, to rip open a bite already there that had nearly healed by now.

She shoved it away, but it was too late; they were all around her now, and Rain realized suddenly that she was screaming as she hit them away, trying to wake up someone upstairs, realizing that it was useless, that she was already fucked as she reached back and grabbed the handle on the panel, trying desperately to avoid being pulled into one of the rooms as J.D had been so many months ago—

She realized that she was bleeding, that she was getting light-headed again even as she continued to scream and scream—

And the room faded into total blackness.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Means To An End

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas. Also, I ripped off a couple lines from The Shawshank Redemption. Kudos if you can recognize them :)

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes:

Hee. I learned a new trick for getting more reviews fast: kill off a main character. I was very surprised, and wonderfully happy with, the responses last update. Fourteen reviews, yay! Thanks so much to: masked-in-your-shadows, Xmaster, rain1657, Schneebly, -, SangloLancer200, kk, LCO100, nikki-da-latina, Hellspawn, Wongster, Kagii, Gabzilla and Jen Drake.

Par usual, thank goes out also to all those who read and don't review, even though I beg you—continuously—to do so. It's still very appreciated.

And to all the new reviewers… firstly, welcome:) Secondly, because it's been questioned a few times now, updates are always every second Friday.

About the "ending the fanfiction" note last chapter—I meant for the third part of the trilogy. "Into the Light" is only the second part of the trilogy, and I have no intentions of stopping until I reach the end:) So you can all stop worrying. But for those wondering—there are only about five chapters left after this one for "Into the Light".

And regarding the third part… I think I'm going to write a little five-chapter fanfiction, just to wrap up the loose ends, and leave it at that.

Still hate fanfiction (dot) net, for those wondering.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Fourteen: Means To An End

While Rain was downstairs, wide awake and fighting for her life, Matt was upstairs, fast asleep and in the middle of a very strange dream.

In the dream he was sitting in the forest directly outside the Spencer Mansion. He was close enough to see the tops of the roof, the smoke from the fire Alice was building inside clear and solid in the early night air.

He was sitting in front of a tree stump, on which was balanced a broad, intricate chessboard made of a smoky silvery glass. A pale pink liquid ran through the board, the color of water mingled with blood, as Matt tried to explain to Rain, sitting cross-legged across from him, the components of the game.

"You see, Rain, chess is a game of kings. Organized. Dignified. And—"

"Totally fucking inexplicable," she interrupted. "I hate chess."

Matt sulked. "I should have played with Michael."

A flash of anger went through Rain's eyes. Then, before Matt could do or say anything, she burst into tears and, bringing the board over her head, shattered it across the ground.

As Matt watched numbly, the pink liquid inside—his anti virus—darkened to the color of blood, pouring down the shards of glass and sinking into the ground underneath them.

"I'm sorry, Matt. I didn't mean to, I'm sorry—"

Rain was crying, but it was Alice's voice he heard even as Nemesis surged through Matt and leapt over the stump to meet Rain—

And then he was in the circular room of the Hive, the same room him and Alice had been taken in so long ago. The black and white tiles were shiny and new, and the angel, statuesque in the corner, stared down at him condemningly.

She was singing, a high sound of fear and loss, a keening wail like the sound of glass shattering over ice, and then Matt realized.

It smelled like smoke.

"Alice?" he asked, and she appeared around the corner. "It's burning. The house is on fire."

She nodded grimly. "You did it," she said hoarsely, her eyes wide and teary. "It's your fault, Matt. You lost the anti-virus, and now I have to burn you. So no one else gets hurt."

He shook his head, eyes wide. "No," he pleaded, watching as she lit a match. "No, Alice, Rain lost it, but it's okay. We're going to dig into the Earth to find it."

"You can find it in Hell," she spat at him.

She dropped the match.

And then Alice was screaming, twisting and crying as her skin bubbled and burned—

Matt sat up, breathing hard.

"Matt?" Alice asked, her voice sleepy as she sat up with him. "What's wrong?"

He could still hear her screaming, and he frowned in confusion, watching as her expression contorted to match his—

"Rain," she said shortly.

And then they were both up, running for the concrete column in the middle of the room where the screaming was coming from.

They both circled around the column, Matt struggling to keep his calm despite the frustration her could feel rising up inside him—this was fucking hopeless, they'd never find her in time—

And then he felt it, a smooth panel nearly invisible against the white backdrop.

"Get Olivia up!" he barked at Alice, and she didn't even bother acknowledging his request before hurrying over to the sleeping bags, shaking Olivia roughly.

J.D and Michael were both waking up now, J.D wiping the back of his hand over sleepy eyes and muttering, "What the fuck is going on?"

Michael was more alert already, gazing around the room and looking back up to Matt and Alice, blissful ignorance clear on his face. "Where's Rain?"

Matt wanted to snap at them, was fighting to keep his temper as he stood there staring at him. Couldn't they fucking hear Rain? Was it that hard to understand what was going on?

And then his furiously narrowed eyes caught Alice's terrified one's halfway across the room and he realized, suddenly, that he could no longer hear Rain screaming.

And then Olivia was hurrying over, Alice having briefed her on the situation in less than a minute, to enter the code, and J.D and Michael, understanding now that something was seriously wrong, began a barrage of questions that Matt didn't bother answering, rushing in through the doorway and down the stairs he found as soon as possible—

And slamming into a concrete wall.

He could hear J.D upstairs, demanding now to know what was going on, the fear in his voice masking the undercurrents of denial, and forced the sounds out of his head, leaning against the wall, letting the border between Nemesis and himself shift and shimmer as he focused on the sounds inside—

And heard a heartbeat, a single, tapping thud amid the moaning of the dead, weakening even as Matt stepped back—

Letting the border break completely, letting Nemesis take over—

And raising one arm, bulging red with twisted veins, smashed it through the concrete wall.

**xxxxx**

Echoes of shattering concrete resounded through the room and J.D swore violently.

"If he caves in that room, he's going to kill her!" he shouted at Alice, slamming his fist into the wall.

Alice was pale, almost white where she stood in the doorway; but she managed to glance at Michael, saying quietly, "Get the anti-virus."

Eyes wide, Michael left amid the sounds of another smash; the entire column shook this time, and J.D shook his head. "Great. That's just fucking great. He's mutating too."

He bit the words off as he looked at Alice, and Alice's eyes were like ice as she met his gaze evenly. "J.D, unless you have a better idea, shut the fuck up and let Matt take care of Rain."

Another thud, more shattering concrete—

And the moans of what had to be over fifty zombies was suddenly audible in the quiet air.

Thudding footsteps resounded, and Alice was moving out of the way, letting Matt through the door—

Already halfway mutated, carrying Rain in his arms and covered in blood.

J.D didn't want to guess how much of it was Rain's.

He dumped her unceremoniously on the ground, stumbling slightly himself as he crossed the threshold into the room, and Alice snapped, "Shut the door, Olivia."

Olivia, whom J.D hadn't even registered was still there, leaning against the wall, looking pale and terrified, did so, even as Matt stumbled off into the room.

Michael followed, pulling out a syringe and prepping it quickly even as Matt dropped to his knees, clutching his head and screaming violently.

Alice's face blanched with pain as she watched Matt, but she dropped to her knees, pulling a trembling Rain to her and snapping at J.D, "Go get the first aid supplies."

He did, returning with a myriad of supplies, cloths and water just as Michael was returning, another surgical needle in his hand.

"Go check on Matt," he told Alice abruptly, and she nodded, standing and letting J.D take her place, pulling Rain's head onto his lap.

She was still unconscious, and as he brushed a strand of hair, damp with sweat, from her face, he could hear Alice saying quietly, "Michael, she's going to need at least two doses, she's lost a lot of blood—"

And then heard Michael respond, his voice grim, "There's only one left."

Alice didn't respond to that, but as she hurried off to Matt, J.D knew she didn't have to.

It had just become Rain's life versus Matt's.

If they didn't find Matt's anti-virus before tomorrow morning, they were going to have a pretty fucking difficult decision on their hands.

Michael opened up the first aid kit, handing J.D a roll of gauze, and, syringe in hand, they went to work.

**xxxxx**

Two hours had passed, and both Matt and Rain were still completely unconscious.

Michael watched silently as J.D shifted, wincing slightly as he tried not to jar Rain, still asleep across his legs.

But she was already waking up, staring blankly at the ceiling and calling out softly, "Matt?"

Alice stood up from where she'd been sitting with Matt and hurried over, even as J.D asked, his voice uncommonly tender, "Rain, you okay?"

She scowled slightly, eyes still closed, obviously still out of it. "I heard Matt. Where'd he go?"

"Uh…" J.D glanced at Alice, and Michael smiled slightly as he mouthed a fairly obvious _'What the fuck_?'

Alice just rolled her eyes at him. "She's probably fairly disoriented, J.D. Wait a few minutes."

Michael could have told him _that_, but for now he was content to stay where he was, watching and observing the scene taking place in front of him.

Alice leaned forward, smoothing Rain's hair away from her face. "Hey Rain!"

Recognition flashed across the brunette's face, and then her eyes were open and she was glaring at Alice. "I'm not a fucking hospital patient."

Alice just laughed, and Rain relaxed slightly, leaning back into J.D and screwing her face up thoughtfully.

Obviously assuming Rain was attempting to remember what'd happened, Alice started to explain, "Matt got you out. You were in one of the rooms, you—"

Rain shook her head, bringing one hand up to cover her eyes. "Shut up, I'm trying to think."

Michael laughed, despite himself. "Yeah, she's definitely okay for now."

He could have cursed himself for the added 'for now', for the silence that went through J.D and Alice following the words. There was no reason to assume Rain wouldn't be okay. One dosage of the anti-virus would last her through most of the day, and by tomorrow, they wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

Hopefully.

Rain, for her part, barely noticed, flashing him a small smile before looking back into her hands again. "Shut up, Michael."

J.D spoke up, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. "Do you remember anything about what happened?"

"I remember that _you_ fell asleep," Rain answered dryly. "Other than that, no. I'm guessing there were zombies involved though."

J.D sighed. "Olivia said that she was awake for awhile, but didn't see you leave. Do you—"

Rain's eyes snapped open. "What?"

J.D looked up at Michael and Alice, the wary look back on his face. "Uh, Olivia just said—"

Rain's expression went stony.

Before anyone could move, she was up and stomping towards an obviously terrified Olivia, who sat on her sleeping bag near the wall.

"What the fuck did you do?" she shouted at her, lifting her by the shoulders and slamming her into the wall, injuries apparently forgotten. "What the fuck did you do, Olivia!"

Despite being injured and a good four inches shorter than Olivia, Rain's rage alone made her capable of inflicting a fair bit of damage, and both Michael and Alice stared in shock as the brunette stepped back, letting Olivia fall to the floor.

"Rain," J.D admonished, his tone more shocked than angry as he hurried forward, grabbing her arms and pulling her away gently, as if afraid he might break her. "Rain, what the hell are you doing?"

"Fuck off, J.D," Rain swore violently, shoving J.D away and starting for Olivia again.

"Back _off_, Rain!" J.D shouted at her, yanking her back forcefully this time. "What the hell is your problem?"

Rain struggled briefly, but J.D's grip was tighter this time and she finally gave in, pointing at Olivia. "J.D, she planned this! She locked me in that fucking room!"

The room went silent, everyone turning to stare at Olivia, who stared, ashen-faced, back at them, seemingly speechless.

It was Alice who finally spoke up, her voice dripping with forced calm. "Look, Rain, Olivia was asleep when we all woke up," she said carefully, holding up her hands as if in surrender. "She had nothing to do with it."

They all looked back at Olivia, just as Alice added, "Right, Olivia?"

Olivia stared at her, wide-eyed.

And then she burst into tears.

And Matt, stumbling around the corner, rubbing heavily-lidded eyes, asked groggily, "What the hell is going on?"

**xxxxx**

What followed next was not an attractive scene.

Olivia sat on the floor, still crying. J.D was shouting at Rain. Michael was shouting at J.D not to shout at Rain, regardless of that fact that Rain seemed to be holding her own fairly well at the time. Alice was standing aside, plainly lost in the unintelligible chaos.

And Matt just stood there, blinking and quiet, wondering what in the hell was going on.

The scene was diffused drastically when Rain suddenly collapsed, both J.D and Michael rushing forward to catch her, and the next five minutes were spent in a vain attempt to convince Rain that, injured and weak as she was, she wouldn't even be able to beat a four year old and thus, renewing a fight with Olivia was an exceedingly dumb idea.

Rain had finally conceded their point, relaxing slightly and flashing one last glare at Olivia before stalking off.

And then collapsing. Again.

So now, like many times before, they'd split off into groups of two. J.D was sitting with Olivia on one of the sleeping bags, both looking guilty and exhausted as they talked quietly.

Alice stood with Michael, looking tired, harassed—and yet focused, more so than she'd been all week as they went through the lab diagrams and possible plans.

After Matt had woken up and the chaos had died down, Alice had barely talked to him; she'd only stood by, wringing her hands and staring at him like a worried mother before giving him a light kiss and hurrying away.

She was distancing herself from him, forcing herself not to think about what was going on so she could focus all her energy on the next two days ahead—the two days, that, basically, decided Matt's own fate.

Alice had always worked best under pressure.

Matt was desperately proud of her.

For his part, Matt was sitting by one of the sleeping bags, looking over a sleeping Rain. She had seemed fine, surprisingly so, to him, but Michael had warned him that adrenaline and anger had been fueling Rain before; when she woke up, she'd probably be feeling as bad as she looked right now.

Her eyes were screwed tightly shut now, and he allowed himself to glance over the rest of her body, wincing at the numerous bandages covering her, at the thought of how many more there would have been if they hadn't found her in time.

He remembered the last time they'd been here, Rain's nausea, loss of sight, weakness and shockingly fast deterioration within a matter of hours.

Of course, Rain had a dosage of the anti-virus now. Things were different.

But she still needed another, and nobody knew how long the one she had was going to last.

"Matt?"

Rain was talking, now, and with a small degree of surprise, he realized she was—had been—awake for awhile now, judging by the tone of her voice. "Yeah?"

"Do you believe me?"

Her voice was uncommonly small; and yet furious, scared and angry at the same time.

"About what?" Matt asked, pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"Olivia."

She opened her eyes then, but didn't look at him, staring instead at the ceiling, and he answered honestly, "I don't know."

She scowled slightly. "Why not?"

"Why did you just give up on it?" he asked quietly. "If Olivia actually did something like that, the Rain I know would get her back for it."

"How?" she asked quietly, her expression defeated. "What exactly is my fucking proof, Matt?"

He shrugged. "I guess you don't have any," he admitted.

She sighed. "Yes or no, Matt?"

"I don't know," he repeated. "But something about the way she's been reacting to this whole thing—standing back in the shadows, alternating between looking guilty and scared—my guess is she played some part in it."

He paused then, and asked, "Did you every think that maybe she just didn't know you were following her?"

"Yes," she said. "But it doesn't make any fucking sense. Why would she go downstairs, lock down the entire room, and then head back upstairs again?"

Matt nodded slightly, conceding her point, and she continued, "And anyways, what good is saying anything going to do? All it's going to do is make her smarter about what she's doing."

He nodded, not really listening anymore as he watched J.D and Olivia from across the room. Olivia was definitely upset, there was no doubt about it; but she was just as obviously hiding something, and even Matt could tell from a mile away.

J.D was, in a lot of ways, a lot smarter than Matt in understanding the different sides of people. More shrewd, more cynical to the world.

But where Olivia was concerned, he was completely blind.

Matt reached down, taking Rain's hand in his, and it was a mark of how upset she was that she let him, squeezing it tightly.

He realized, suddenly, how completely betrayed, exposed she must be feeling right now.

She was completely convinced Olivia had something to do with her attack, and nobody would even consider the theory.

"I'll watch Olivia," he promised her quietly. "If something's going on, I'll protect you and everyone else. Don't worry."

She turned to look at him then, and smirked; but the laughter was gone from her eyes, and all she said was, "Thanks, Matt."

"Matt?"

Alice, standing with Michael, J.D and Olivia. "We have a plan."

**xxxxx**

Nobody was watching her anymore; all eyes were on Alice.

And yet, Olivia couldn't shake the feeling that they were all staring at her, that they all knew what she had done.

She wished she hadn't listened to Archangelo. She'd _known_ she couldn't trust him, had let her emotions get in the way of simple logic, something she didn't often do.

And now Rain was injured, dying even, and their situation had become that much harder.

And she had nothing to show for it anymore.

Part of her wanted to call Archangelo and scream at him. A larger part of her wanted to burst into tears, throw herself into J.D's arms, admit what she'd done, and beg forgiveness.

And still a bigger part of her felt horribly guilty, knowing that Archangelo had played on her dislike of Rain to use her to his advantage.

And she had taken the bait, no questions asked.

She hadn't known what would happen to Rain in that room. Maybe she should have realized it, maybe she should have been more cynical to his words; but she'd been desperate to make herself useful to the team, leaving herself completely open to Archangelo's uses.

And despite all that, some nagging part of her brain still wondered: If she had known what was going to happen, would she have done it anyway?

"Olivia?"

Alice, glancing at her, and she shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, what?"

Alice gave her an understanding smile, though somewhat forced, and Olivia was glad for the effort Alice made to keep her temper. Thankfully, the entire team had chalked up her emotional breakdown earlier as a sign of stress, and had been walking on eggshells around her ever since.

"We're going down into the Hive further now, but I think everyone should come along this time. We already know it's not safe in here, especially for one person left on their own, and there's no guarantee we'll end up back here."

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Alice nodded, looking relieved. "Good. Let's head out."

"I think someone should stay here with Rain." J.D, looking irritable and worried, and for a moment Olivia hated him, remembering the video.

And then she wiped away the emotion, feeling even more guilty than before. She didn't have the right to be angry at anyone anymore.

Alice looked guilty. "Look, J.D, it doesn't make any sense for anyone to stay here. We have less than nine hours to go through the ground floors of the Hive, and we need all the people we have."

"Look, Rain's just going to slow us down," J.D said bluntly. "She can barely walk—"

"I can walk just fine," Rain herself interrupted, looking irritated, not uncommon. "And if you're done talking about me like I'm not even here, let's go."

Alice looked worried now, as if debating her own choice; and then she asked, "Rain, are you sure?"

She shrugged. "I'm not staying here," she said flatly, turning to glare at Olivia, making it all too clear exactly why she was going on the mission with them.

Olivia forced an oblivious look onto her face, completely ignoring the guilt that flashed through her as J.D sent her a sympathetic smile.

"All right then," Alice said slowly, looking around the group. "We have eight hours, forty five minutes, to go through eleven more rooms. There's probably going to be more action this time, so stay alert. I…"

Olivia tuned her out, focusing on maintaining her calm.

And knowing that, some time or another, the group was going to find out what she'd done; she had no doubt Archangelo would find a way to use the incident to his advantage.

And wondering, when that time came, what the hell she was going to do.

**xxxxx**

Walking through the bottom floors of the Hive was like walking through a cave.

Alice hadn't noticed it her first time down here. She doubted anyone had. But upstairs, efforts were still made to create a semblance of normalcy. Every room had the fake windows, the bright lights, the eerily realistic sounds of traffic filtering in through the sound system.

But down here, on the last three floors, it was as if whoever had built the Hive hadn't even bothered with that vain attempt. The walls were no longer sterile and white, but a dark, cloudy grey; the floor was black linoleum, and the lights were dim, casting shadows in every corner.

And there were no windows whatsoever.

That, quite possibly, was what unnerved Alice the most. She was used to being able to see inside the labs, keep an eye on what was going on on every side of her.

And now she was completely blind, going forward without knowing, beyond a simple map, where she was headed.

On the slightly optimistic side, the mission had been ridiculously easy so far. None of the doors were locked down here; part of Alice was beginning to sincerely doubt anyone would keep an anti-virus so important in any of these rooms, where anyone could reach them.

In fact, part of her was beginning to doubt the anti-virus was even down here. The Hive only had eight floors, besides one more compact one at the bottom of an elevator shaft the entire group had agreed not to bother searching unless it was a last resort.

And they were on the last floor. They'd gotten through eight labs; they had only three more to go.

The entire group was straggling now. Matt was getting irritable again, Olivia looked like she was about to jump out of her skin, Michael looked exhausted, and J.D looked almost more mutinous than Matt.

And Alice didn't even want to think about how Rain was doing. She knew the brunette was getting steadily worse; even from here she could hear her harsh breathing echoing through the corridors. She knew that J.D and Matt had fallen back to help her, while Olivia and Michael were up ahead with Alice, navigating.

And that was all she wanted to know. She already felt guilty enough dragging Rain along on this mission—but what had the alternative been? Leaving the brunette alone, upstairs, completely defenseless? Or leaving someone to protect her and heading down here with only one person experienced with Umbrella's mutations?

Still, she didn't allow herself to look; she wouldn't allow any emotion to enter, anything that would shatter the miniscule vestiges of hope that still remained. She had to be strong right now, had to keep looking, even if she herself was beginning to believe that Matt was doomed.

And so she kept walking, and kept looking, and kept pretending she had the situation under control.

Because the only other option was failing, was letting Matt die, and that was unacceptable.

"Alice," J.D said harshly, and she ignored him. "Alice!"

She turned back to look at him, not wanting to, but knowing that J.D had reached his straining point and wasn't going to quit until he did.

She immediately wished she hadn't. Matt and J.D were both on other side of Rain, supporting her almost completely, and Rain's face was almost paper white, blank and empty.

If she hadn't glanced up at Alice just slightly—just enough for Alice to see the anger in her eyes, anger and frustration at her own weakness that slowed down their group—Alice would have thought she'd already stopped breathing.

She pushed the thoughts away vehemently. "What?"

"This is stupid," J.D said shortly. "We've been at this for eight hours already, and Rain isn't going to survive the rest of today if we keep this up."

Alice stared at him. "Are you suggesting we just _quit_?" she asked incredulously, barely aware that her voice was rising. "Just stop, J.D, and forget about it?"

"I'm saying," J.D said, his voice barely controlled, "That we should take a break."

"Unacceptable," she said in a clipped tone. "We have forty five minutes left, J.D. Rain can handle it."

"Are you trying to fucking kill her?" J.D asked disbelievingly.

"Rain isn't the only fucking casualty, J.D!" she shouted at him, finally losing her temper. How could he just stand there, when they had less than a day left for Matt, weighing the chances of their success when Matt's _life_ was at stake—

"Alice," Michael said quietly. "Maybe J.D has a point."

For some reason, instead of bothering to look at Michael, Alice looked at Matt; and was haunted by the look in his eyes, a look of sadness, of guilt, of barely concealed frustration—

A look of defeat.

And at that moment, a wave of hate for J.D washed over her, so strong it almost knocked her over, and all that she could think was, "Fuck you, J.D, _fuck _you"—

And she realized suddenly that the words were out there, that she'd said them aloud.

And by the time her words had registered on the rest of the group and they were looking at her in shock and something akin to fear, the anger had already vanished, replaced full force with guilt and sadness.

She shook her head slightly, knowing that her cheeks were bright with both anger and shame. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I am. But we don't have a choice."

"Alice"—

And J.D's tone had changed to, was pleading now instead of angry. "Alice, if something comes out, if something attacks us right now, we're all going to die. Not just Matt, not just Rain, all of us. There's no way we're prepared for this situation—"

"I can't." Her voice broke slightly, and she noticed the look on Matt's face change to an expression of worry, and hated herself for causing him more pain. "I'm sorry, J.D, but we can't stop now."

They were all still staring at her, and she felt horribly guilty as she offered, "Look, we haven't run into anything yet. Maybe it's safe. Maybe—"

She stopped. What was the point? She was in the wrong. She was sending the group along this stupid fucking roller coaster, and there was no way to rationalize that. This mission could very well kill them all, and what good would words do her then?

But Matt was going to die if they did nothing.

She noted absentmindedly that the wound across her thigh was searing, the rough bandages, soaked now in dried blood, scraping constantly against it.

"Let's go," she said quietly.

And she turned and left, knowing that they would follow her.

Thirty five minutes later, they had come to the last door, and though Rain was barely standing anymore, all of them were overtaken by relief: this was the end. Whether the room had the anti-virus or not, they'd be done this search; they'd have their answer.

Alice sucked in a heavy breath, and stepped forward, pulling open the heavy door.

And when it swung open to reveal the monster standing in the doorway, alight and crackling with electricity and heat, she remembered, with a sudden flash of guilt, her own words.

_"We can't stop now."_

They'd reached the end.

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...This is the end of the fic. Everyone dies, in case you were wondering.

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I am, of course, just kidding :) Next update is May 13th.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Candleburn

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas. Also, "Candleburn", the title of this chapter, is from the fantastic song by Dishwalla. It just seemed to fit, lol.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes:

Thanks goes out of course to all my fantastic reviewers, particularly for chapter fourteen: Darkside Alexis, Rain With Attitude, SangoLancer200, maskedinyourshadows, rain1657, XMaster, Destined To Fight The Shadow, Gabzilla, Kagii, and KagomeKia.

Thanks also goes out, par usual, to those who read and don't review—I appreciate it, though I beg you to review at least occasionally as well :)

And to all those wonderful people who congratulated me/commented on/mentioned in any way, shape or form in reference to the Cinderella play… it went on last week, and it was fantastic and great fun; I miss it, but on the good side, I have more time for writing now. :)

Still hate fanfiction (dot) net, for those wondering.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Fifteen: Candleburn

It was a shapeless mess, a huge, silvery mix of metallics and crackling blue light, and as it burst into the room, opening it's mouth loudly and letting a scream rip through the air, only static echoed through the room, scratching through Alice's head and terrifying her a thousand times worse than any other sound had yet.

As she stumbled back, barely registering the fact that she had pulled out her gun and was holding it at her side, she realized the monster was emanating, burning with heat like a candle burning down to the ground, a firecracker set off too early.

"Matt!" she shouted, bringing the gun up to aim, "Get Rain out of here!"

She barely spared him a glance as he gathered the sick girl in his arms, disappearing with her down the corridor, the frustration in his eyes evident even from here.

He didn't want to leave them alone to fight. Alice didn't blame him.

But she couldn't fight, couldn't _survive_ if she was worrying about him mutating again.

Olivia, Michael and J.D were flanking her now, and Alice snapped, "Olivia, what the hell is this thing?"

"I don't know," she answered immediately, sounding fearful. "I wasn't involved in any of the experimentation down here, I haven't even seen the files—"

The monster leapt, and Alice was lifting her gun, aiming at the monster—

And then Michael was screaming as the monster locked it's jaws onto his shoulder, sending them both crashing to the ground—

And blue electricity was running through him, Michael was jerking and shaking violently, uncontrollably—

As the bullets the other three sent flying at it pinged uselessly off it's body.

This was her fault. She had dragged them down here, gotten them into this—it was her fault.

And the next thing she was aware of was heat, all compassing and burning, and the sound of her own voice screaming as she dropped her gun and threw herself into the mess, trying to distract the monster's attention away from Michael.

What was less than a minute felt like an eternity, and then the monster was pulling itself away from her, screaming piercing static as she lay on the ground, quivering still involuntary, freezing and burning hot at the same time.

J.D was watching, looking horrified, and Olivia had pulled Michael over to the far side of the room, was tending to him even now.

"The grenade, J.D!" she shouted at him, and her voice, raspy and dry, tore through her throat, lacerating it.

She saw J.D hesitate, saw his expression change as he realized how close she was to the monster, that she would be inevitably caught in the resulting explosion—

"Do it!"

The world exploded around her.

Alice wasn't sure whether she passed out or not. All she could hear was a ringing sound, and all she felt was heat, pressing in around her, at all sides.

Then there were hands gripping her, and she looked up blearily to see J.D, lifting her from the rocky debris, carrying her towards the wall where Michael and Olivia still were.

Her mind was foggy, and she forced herself to focus, pushing J.D away when he tried to check her shoulder, at the wound there. "I'm fine."

He did a double take, and she realized, with a sudden, uncontrollable urge to laugh, that she sounded exactly like Rain.

"I'm not," she admitted, and J.D looked slightly relieved.

"You're coherent," he said simply. "That's something, at least."

"How's Michael?" Already the heat was dying away, and the roaring fire in her shoulder had died down to a painful tingling.

"I'm fine."

Michael was there then, looking down at her as he added, "Thanks, Alice."

"Yeah," she said dully. "Yeah, no problem."

J.D's expression was edgy as he grabbed her arms again, pulling her into a standing position, and she pulled away gently. "I'm fine, I can walk."

He shook his head, expression grim. "We don't have much time."

Alice stared at him, eyes wide, taking in the seriousness of his expression and wondering why she hadn't noticed it before.

She shook her head violently to clear it, and saw that Michael and Olivia were already at the end of the corridor—

And the cause for that was suddenly obvious as she looked back towards the wall where she had been.

All that was left now was a mountain of tumbled walls and foundation, slight bursts of flame still burning on around it—

And that mountain was moving, shaking, shuddering, and tumbling to the ground as the monster stood once again.

"God damn it," J.D muttered next to her, and the words would have been funny had Alice not been completely stunned, knowing that there was nothing left to do but run—

And then, with a trilling sound of bells, the sprinkler system went on.

J.D sighed. "God _damn_ it," and Alice turned to look at him in disbelief, unable to understand how he could make such a deal out of the water splashing around them—

And then she realized the room had gone dark.

She could barely see the monster ahead of her—his electricity, the flaming blue lights around him, had gone out.

It opened it's mouth to scream, and nothing more than a gurgle came out.

Alice turned her head away as it began to melt into the ground, hearing Olivia gag behind her, wanting to gag herself as she watched the blue mess trickle fluidly into the water surrounding them, knowing exactly what she was standing in now.

In less than a minute, it was over. The monster had vanished, slid into the ground, mingling into the water which still flooded into the room, the sprinklers still alive and working surprisingly well.

Alice cleared her throat. "Well," she said simply, her voice absurdly calm considering the circumstances. "Let's find Matt and Rain."

"No need," Michael said, and Alice turned to see Matt walking towards them in the corridor, Rain still in his arms.

"Someone's blocked the staircase," he said shortly. "This floor is flooding."

Despite the situation, Alice couldn't help but want to laugh. In the timespan of a single day, Rain had been attacked, they'd run up to the last anti-virus capsule, they had less than two hours left before Day Eight, her and Michael had been electrocuted, and now this. What the hell else could possibly go wrong?

Instead she just shook her head tiredly, nodding at Rain. "Is she asleep?"

Matt nodded, and she sighed. "Good," she said simply. "We'll stay in one of the rooms off corridor. None of the doors lock, and the rooms are all waterproofed—finding one shouldn't be a problem."

"And what about the anti-virus?" Michael asked quietly.

"What about it?" she snapped at him, and then instantly felt guilty. Michael hadn't meant anything by the comment, she knew that—but what exactly did he think she was going to do? They'd searched everywhere. Every single fucking room in this building.

The anti-virus wasn't here.

And sometime in the next hour, Alice knew that she was going to have to regroup, formulate a new plan.

But right now she needed quiet, something to clear her head before that could happen, and everything right now was nothing more than another barrier to that.

"Look, Michael, I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Let's just—let's just find a room."

He nodded.

And then their tired little group of warriors was picking up their weapons, everything that had been dropped, and struggling forward to yet another impossible destination.

**xxxxx**

"Beep-beep!"

Rain giggled, leaning forward to peer at the tv as the top of cliff loomed—

And laughing outright when Wile E. Coyote met his fateful end at the bottom of the cliff, the Road Runner running off again.

At twelve years old, Rain knew that she was getting to old to watch cartoons. But still, it was a Saturday morning. It was a long weekend, and she didn't have any homework, or anything else to do.

Besides, it was fun to watch the bad guy get what he deserved in the end.

Nothing like the way real life was.

A crash echoed from downstairs, and Rain winced as she heard her stepdad shouting again, reaching forward to turn up the television, drowning out the noise from downstairs.

Her hand closed around her arm, at the narrow line of bruises still healing there, unconsciously as she stared uncomprehendingly at the tv.

Any minute now it was going to start. Any minute the crashing would stop, and Rain would hear—

Her mother began to scream.

Rain squeezed her eyes shut, clamping her hands over her ears on either side of her head in a vain attempt to drown out the noise. She couldn't go downstairs, she wasn't allowed to. Her mother had told her countless times to let her handle it, not to get involved.

She could guard her daughter from the violence, but not from the screaming.

And in a few months, there was going to be a new baby, too. A little brother or sister, maybe. And maybe then Jake would stop hitting her mom and her, would get a job or something.

And if he didn't, Rain would at least make sure he didn't get near that baby. She couldn't protect her mother, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let that creep near her little brother or sister.

Sudden silence, and Rain pulled her hands away from her ears, opening her eyes cautiously.

The cartoons still played across the screen, absurdly loud, and Rain reached forward and flicked off the tv.

The resulting silence was almost tangible, smothering and sinister, and she swallowed nervously as she stood, staring at her closed door.

She couldn't even hear Jake yelling anymore.

_"Never, ever come downstairs again, Rain," her mother told her furiously as she bandaged Rain's sprained ribs, bloody arms and knees. "Do you want Jake to hurt you too? You're not a part of this, stay out of it."_

But how could she not be a part of it? She lived here too, didn't she?

Rain had made up her mind.

Standing slowly, stealthily, she crept forward to the door and opened it cautiously, half-expecting to see Jake on the other side of it.

There was nobody there, and she walked forward quietly, down the darkened hallway, down the stairs to the kitchen, shining slightly with the barest flickering of the sun, halfway through a sunset.

She could smell the blood before she reached the room, the metallic taste assaulting her senses as she stepped into the room.

Her mother was spread out across the bright yellow tiling, covered in it. The color was almost more vivid even than the scent, fading into the floor and her mother's white dress, stretched out over her swelled stomach, staining everything it touched.

"Mom," Rain choked, still standing in the doorway. "Mom."

And she was there before she even realized she'd begun to move, falling to her knees next to her mother.

She wasn't even bleeding anymore, and her eyes were wide open and staring as Rain started to sob. "Mom, wake up."

Hands covered in blood, she pulled back slightly, turning to reach up for the phone on the table—

And gasped as she realized that Jake was there, holding the phone and smiling down at her.

There was something wrong with his eyes; they were twitching, and Rain thought about mentioning it to him, but was afraid to.

"You're mother was a whore, Rain," he told her.

She'd heard the words before; she didn't know what they meant. She knew they had something to do with Michael—Mikey, Rain called him—her mom's other boyfriend. The nice one.

The one that made Jake really angry.

"She deserved what she got," Jake continued, conversationally.

And then she was on her feet, screaming at him, hitting him. "No! You're a liar, I hate you—"

And the words failed her as he grabbed the back of her neck and slammed her head into the wall next to them.

She struggled as he dragged her up the stairs, knowing that her head was bleeding, watching almost absentmindedly as blood splattered across the grey carpeting.

She could hear the bathtub running. She hadn't even noticed it before, but she could hear it now, and she realized suddenly that there was something very wrong about the sound, that it could mean nothing good—

She struggled harder, barely registering that she was crying as he twisted her arm behind her, shoving her into the bathroom.

The bathtub was full, water pouring over the edges—

And burning hot as he shoved her head underneath.

She was choking, and she could hear him laughing as she struggled weakly to throw him off her, to get the air she so desperately needed.

Her head was singing, mind flimsy from lack of air, and still some part of her knew that in a matter of minutes this was all going to be over. Her eyes were going to close, but that door was going to open, she'd hear voices, people shouting—police would crash into the bedroom, pushing aside Jake and pulling her out of the bathtub. One of the paramedics would do mouth-to-mouth, and Rain would wake up in the hospital two days later to learn she no longer had a mother.

Any minute now.

But the water was smothering her and the darkness was closing in on her already, and back below the layers of childish hope and innocence, the adult part of her realized the truth—that there was nobody there. Nobody was coming for her.

It was already too late.

**xxxxx**

J.D had strong hands.

It was something Olivia had noticed about him right from the start, almost immediately after she'd met him. He had large hands, long fingers, and while they lacked the almost graceful appearance of Matt's hands, they were strong and somehow so much more agile-seeming.

When he kissed her, he always kept those hands on the small of her back, pulling her close to him, and she loved the way it felt; like being pulled into something more powerful than herself. Like being protected, a feeling she'd never experienced, had never expected to _want_ to experience.

Now that feeling was a sort of guilty pleasure. When he pulled her to him, almost immediately after they'd found a room to stay in and the rest of the team had scattered, she'd moved along with him willingly, knowing that, for now, their was nothing romantic in the way J.D held her.

J.D was simply scared, and expressed it by reasserting control over those around him. He couldn't help Matt, couldn't help Rain, and she knew it comforted him to know that she was there, that she was safe and available.

But part of her still felt guilty, as he ran those strong hands over her back and she thought about what he'd be doing with those hands instead if he found out what she had done. Hit her? Strangle her? Or simply step back, hands raised, like she was a contagious disease he couldn't touch anymore.

Rain was already deteriorating, and it terrified Olivia. As long as Rain was still alive, there was still hope; she could still make it right.

But if Rain died, it would be Olivia's fault. She wouldn't have made a stupid mistake, but actually _murdered _Rain.

Somehow, that didn't sound like just a dumb mistake.

Olivia pulled back abruptly, and J.D let out a tiny sound of confusion mingled with annoyance.

She wanted to laugh at the expression on his face as he looked at her, but found that she was just too tired anymore.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "It's just—"

"Rain," he said, and she flushed. "Olivia, seriously, don't worry about that. Rain was upset, she was lashing out; that's just what she does. She didn't mean any of it."

She could feel tears building up in her eyes as she said, voice quavering, "No, J.D, you don't understand."

"Olivia," he said softly, taking her hands in his, strong hands encompassing ones frail and weak. "None of this is your fault."

She could feel the tears slip over her cheeks, and was frustrated despite herself at her lacking ability to control herself around J.D. This wasn't what she'd wanted to do, breaking down in front of him. She'd wanted to sit up straight and tell him, not guilt him into feeling sorry for her first—

His expression was distinctly worried now as he asked, "What's going on?"

"I'm so sorry," Olivia choked out, knowing that by now it was too late to go back, was too late to do anything more but tell the truth. "I didn't mean to, J.D, I honestly didn't—"

"Mean to what?" he interrupted her.

"It's my fault!" she rambled, completely and horribly aware now how off track she'd gotten. "J.D, it was _my _fault, I was the one who—"

She never got the chance to finish. J.D had jumped to his feet, expression one of shock and worry, and shoved through the filmy glass door separating their small room from the larger office one.

"I was the one who made Rain go in there," she finished brokenly.

**xxxxx**

Rain was screaming.

That was the first thing that registered in J.D's mind, pushing past the worry for Olivia and wary curiosity of what she was trying to say, and before he knew it he was up and shoving back into the room, Olivia's words all but forgotten.

The sight which greeted him wasn't a common one. Rain was sitting up in the middle of the room, obviously having just awoken from a nightmare. Alice was kneeling next to her, engulfing the brunette in a hug as Michael and Matt stood by, faces showing expressions of shock and awkwardness.

And Rain was crying, just sobbing, something J.D knew none of them had ever seen before—he himself had never seen it.

Rain rarely cried. And when she did cry, she cried quietly, tears sliding silently down her face into oblivion, not heaving, gasping sobs of painful fear that she was emitting now.

J.D didn't even stop to think, not knowing what, rationally, he would do if he did. Instead he just surged forward, dropping next to Rain on her sleeping bag.

Rain turned to him immediately, latching onto him like her life depended on it, and not knowing what to do, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her to him and muttering nonsense he wasn't even sure was coherent to her anymore.

He felt rather than saw Alice shepherding Matt and Michael into the room with Olivia, obviously wanting to give Rain some degree of privacy, and was thankful for it. Right now, he highly doubted Rain was conscious to anything going on around her, but later, when she remembered breaking down this way, he had no doubt she'd be fairly pissed about it.

Her fingers were painful as they dug into his back, and he shifted his hands to her lower back, pulling her closely as he moved one hand up to smooth her hair.

It seemed like an eternity before her sobs began to fade, the brutal sounds gradually drifting into her own, casual by comparison, silent tears and she pulled back slightly, breathing heavily, almost as if she was gasping for air.

She latched her hands onto the front of his shirt, holding on tightly and staring at the material bunched up in her palms. Obviously embarrassed, she refused to meet his eyes, staring down at the tearstained material as she muttered, "Sorry."

He just held her close, continuing to rub her back even as some part of him laughed at the reaction Rain would undoubtedly treat him to had he ever tried this before. He didn't say anything, because he wasn't quite sure what to say. "It's fine," and "Don't worry about it," were two statements Rain had never taken seriously, and "What's wrong?" sounded too completely idiotic to even be worth vocalizing.

"What was it?" he finally whispered quietly, and Rain shuddered. "Rain?"

"My mom," she breathed out quickly, as if she kept the words inside any longer they would lock themselves there forever. "Jake. I kept waiting for them to come, J.D, for somebody to find me, and nobody—nobody did."

"Come where?" he asked quietly, his hands tracing circles over her back now, and she sighed, a dejected tone which broke the silence with no words at all.

"My house," she said. "Jake had just killed my mother, and he was trying to drown me."

She'd stiffened, obviously not wanting to reveal anymore, afraid that she would go beyond her limits of composure.

"It was just a dream," J.D said softly. "You're awake now."

It was the wrong thing to say. Rain shoved him away abruptly, showing a strength he'd had no clue she possessed at the present time and spat, "It wasn't just a fucking _dream_, J.D. Do you think I'm a fucking wimp or something? Like I'd wake up because of a stupid nightmare and act like such a baby—"

"Rain," he interrupted, suddenly realizing the source of her anger. "Don't. You're not being a baby, all right?"

She snorted, and he cut her off before she could say anything. "Look, you're not the only one being down here is affecting, okay? You're infected, you're exhausted; and even if you weren't, everyone has their breaking point. It's nothing to be upset about."

"No, J.D," she said softly. "You don't get it."

He wanted to reach out to her, but she had already pushed herself away, and so he held himself back, twisting his hands together and saying, his tone almost pleading, "So tell me, then."

Her face blanched, and he knew she was caught between pretending nothing had happened and telling him—and then she dropped her eyes to the ground and said quietly,

"It wasn't just a dream. All of that—I mean, it happened."

"I know," he said simply. "I know, Rain, but it wasn't—"

"You don't fucking get it!" She was looking frustrated now, and he stopped, waiting for her to continue. "Those were memories, J.D, fucking _memories_. I don't know why they were there, but they were, and it was like reliving the whole goddamn thing all over again, and I—"

She stopped, clamping her hands over her eyes and stifling a short, sudden sob, and he moved forward automatically.

"Don't, J.D," she said quietly. "Leave me alone."

"Why?" he asked recklessly. "Rain, you can't just play this all off like it didn't happen."

"I don't plan on it," she said, looking tired. "But what's the fucking point? It won't help anything, and we don't have time for this. Not now."

J.D wanted to protest that, but he bit his lip instead, knowing her words were true. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair—but Rain was right. They had to pull together, start over again for Matt's sake—they didn't have time for this.

And all he could do for now was play along with it, and pretend like it wasn't eating away at him, knowing that Rain was going to be lying awake, alone, all night remembering the events of her nightmare.

Rain let out a heavy sigh. J.D looked at her, and said, "Everyone's outside now. You okay with letting them in again?"

Rain snorted. "Do I have a choice?"

J.D made a face at her, but couldn't manage to get up the energy to complete it, ending up with more of a grimace as she added, "I look like shit."

"You look fine," he said, unable to help a small smile. She sent him a look, half-glare, half-exasperation, and he snickered slightly. "Yeah, you do."

She punched him on the arm, a lessened but still surprising amount of force behind the blow, and laughed. It wasn't a particularly happy laugh; more one of tired, exasperated amusement, but it was laughter all the same and he was glad to hear it.

Things were so fucked up right now. Matt was hours away from his last day, Alice appeared at times to have shut down emotionally because of it, and Olivia seemed about two steps away from a nervous breakdown.

And now Rain had already broken down, a sight that was, for her, almost terrifying to see; Rain _never _had fallen apart like that before.

And yet some part of J.D knew that this was only the beginning. Rain was sick, her physical and emotional capabilities were being totally fucked with by the virus currently running through her systems, and they had hours to go before she could get the rest of the anti-virus she so desperately needed.

He heard the door open behind him and looked back, flashing a smile at a nervous-looking Olivia that was horribly forced.

He felt rather than saw Rain drawing away from him again as she lifted her arm, wiping her face hastily on her sleeve, and knew that she was pulling away again, putting up emotional barriers again and closing herself off from the rest of them.

And normally, that would have been okay. That was just the way Rain was, sick or not. It was like her own personal motto or something: sit back, pretend nothing happened, and if anyone actually attempts to bring it up, shut them up before they can get anywhere with it.

But this time, things were different, and J.D had a sinking suspicion that their problems weren't going to go away so easily this time.

**xxxxx**

It was a quarter to twelve, and beside him Matt could feel Alice twitching nervously, glancing at her watch every five minutes, and all the while trying to hide it from him.

Part of him was glad to see her nervous, and afraid for him again. It reassured him to know that she hadn't completely shut down—that there was still a part of her that probably _couldn't_ shut down her apparently inbred ability to care for and worry about those around her.

But another part of him, one that was far less selfish, hated himself for being glad for it. Seeing Alice in pain, especially because of him, only made things worse on both of them.

"Tomorrow is my birthday," he said abruptly.

Looking back later, Matt wasn't sure why he'd said that. Nobody needed to know; it certainly wasn't going to help anyone.

Part of him believed that he'd told Alice just to break the silence. Just to stop her from looking at her watch, from gazing nervously around her—to give her a break from her brave attempts at holding back the tears.

And yet a part of him, that same selfless one, realized the truth—that he did it as a comfort to himself as well. Somehow, it was important to him that she, and everyone else in this world, knew the day that he had been born on—knew that he'd lived for twenty-eight years and had done good things with those years, fighting against Umbrella and to avenge Lisa's death.

Knew that he'd been a good person before he'd become a monster.

He wondered if he'd still be conscious. If he'd know what he was doing, and be unable to stop it.

Alice swallowed hard, before she turned to him, and smiled slightly. "Twenty eight years, Matt. Almost half a century—you're ancient."

He snorted. "I think I have a few more years still before that," he said dryly, and was gratified to hear Alice laugh next to him.

He wondered if he'd hear that laugh again if he became Nemesis. If he'd ever have the chance to.

"I wish I were dying," he said without thinking, and Alice sucked in a harsh breath next to him.

He felt guilty when he realized that he'd ruined the game they'd been playing. The one which cast them into some nice play where nobody was dying, where nobody was hurt; where they were out in the world, at some coffeehouse or whatever, and Matt was telling his girlfriend that his birthday was coming up the next day.

But Matt didn't have a lot of time left, and he was tired of being strong, and being angry, and not allowing himself to feel sorry for himself.

Alice's voice was strained and sad as she whispered, "Why?"

In the darkness, he found her hand and grasped it tightly.

"Because I don't want to hurt you," he whispered. "Because I don't want to hurt any of you."

His face was wet, and he realized that there were tears there—that Alice was crying slightly as she said, "Maybe you won't have to."

"I don't—" he began, and faltered only once before continuing. "I don't think I'm going to have a choice, Alice."

"Don't say that," she said automatically. "Matt, don't, just—"

"It's almost the last day," he continued, unwilling to stop, knowing he was hurting her but knowing that it would hurt her even more if he left her with the hope that there was still possibility of recovery. "Look, maybe you should just give the anti-virus to Rain—"

"_Stop,"_ she said, and while her voice was harsh, the tears flooding her face belied the anger in her tone. "Matt, stop. You have one day left, and until then, I'm not giving up on you."

She squeezed his hand, and then he was breaking, crying like a little kid, and the funny thing was that, sitting here, in Alice's embrace, he didn't feel bad about it. He could tell that she was crying too, could feel her tears soaking his shirt as he kissed her forehead clumsily.

He knew that somewhere in the room, the others were probably watching, completely unsure of what to do, and knew that normally he would feel like such a child for this—completely stupid for his tears.

But right now, he was breaking down in a way he hadn't allowed himself to do since that night he'd found out about the Nemesis infection, and sitting here on the filthy floor, wrapped up in Alice and all that she epitomized—all that was still good in the world—was like being home again.

**xxxxx**

It was two minutes to twelve.

They were all sitting there now, all sharing identical expressions of sad weariness.

Matt and Alice had pulled apart again, though they still sat side by side; and the expressions on their faces were scary, a depressing mix of hopelessness and fear.

Rain's expression where she sat by the wall next to J.D's was carefully blank; she was staring at the wall, looking exhausted and tired, dark circles ringing her eyes. J.D sat next to her, looking moody and tired, staring at his watch as if willing it to move slower.

Olivia sat here next to him, looking for all the world like she didn't know how to look, her face a curious blend of guilt, of nervousness, and of true sorrow for someone she still barely knew.

Michael glanced down at his watch.

There were five seconds left, and he counted them down silently, not having to look up to know that everyone around him was doing the same thing.

The second hand hit twelve, and it might have well been a silent alarm, or a clocktower chiming loudly to announce the time for the effect it had on the group—a dead silence settled over them immediately, and like death itself, they ceased to move.

And then Alice said, her voice flat and edged in sorrow, "Happy birthday, Matt."

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Ahhh! I cannot tell you how long I have had that last phrase in my head (months!) before finally writing this! It feels good to do so finally :)

I was planning to have updates every week after this, and I still will if I can—but since I'm behind, I dunno. So chapter sixteen will be up either May 20th or May 27th.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Dissolution

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes:

Thanks goes out of course to all my fantastic reviewers, particularly for chapter fifteen: masked-in-your-shadows, rain1657, Tashmal, WilliamsXEv, SangoLancer200, XMaster, Kagii and VaderX.

Thanks also goes out, par usual, to those who read and don't review—I appreciate it, though I beg you to review at least occasionally as well :)

As you can see, I'm going to be able to manage putting up a chapter every week for the last few, as I love writing endings… especially this one, which I've had planned out since forever :)

I've been writing a lot actually. I wrote all of chapter sixteen, pretty much non-stop, on Sunday; then all of seventeen, again pretty much non-stop, Monday. You'd think I'd be sick of it, but… no :)

There is, however, one condition for the more frequent updates—I think that part of the reason I get reviews is that I leave so much time in between chapters; I think it gives people more of a chance to get the time to review. Thus, if I start getting less reviews with this chapter, Chapter Seventeen won't be up for another two weeks, simply because I'm a writer and I positively adore reviews; they make my day. Don't take that away from me:)

Also… any CSI fans here? What'd you think of the finale? I thought it was fairly good, but Sara and Greg got no screen time whatsoever! Rather frustrating, considering they're far closer to Nick than Catherine is! Plus, I love Sara. So yes, I'm fairly bitter right now :)

On the bright side, the Alias season finale is on next week. And Lost! Michelle Rodriguez is on Lost right now, by the way, in case anyone wanted to know :)

Anyways. Onto the actual fanfiction now.

Still hate fanfiction (dot) net, for those wondering.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Sixteen: Dissolution

Her eyes were wide, fringed in long lashes, and a beautiful, clear shade of blue; awashed in tears, Alice Parks possessed a truly dramatic sort of beauty as she whispered, "Happy birthday, Matt."

Her expression was echoed by everyone's around her. J.D Salinas and Matt Addison, for all their ostensible 'manliness', looked prepared to burst into tears. Michael Cahill's hair stood on end and his face was pale, partially from the night's events, no doubt; but then, being electrocuted earlier had probably helped as well.

Rain Ocampo was the only one who didn't look like she was about to cry; instead, she looked exhausted. He figured she probably had about eight hours or so left without an anti-virus.

William laughed. He couldn't help it. Parks, Addison, all of them—looked so sad. Even Olivia, sitting in the corner, looked upset, like Addison had actually _meant_ something to her.

He felt pity for them, sure. But that pity was drastically reduced by the knowledge that they should have expected this conclusion by now. From the beginning there'd been no hope, and now still, in the end, there was no hope—nothing had changed.

Still, it was really too bad Addison was just going to die down there like a caged rat. Umbrella had wanted to monitor him, find out what the viral effects on his system were going to be, and now it looked like they weren't going to get that chance.

Raccoon was being detonated. It was unfortunate, but what other choices did they have? With all the virus carriers and mutated life forms stumbling around in the streets, it was a small miracle word hadn't yet gotten out to the rest of the world. And it was nothing less than exceptionally lucky that Umbrella hadn't yet been linked to the crime.

Not officially, anyway. There were, of course, little suffragette groups like the hamsters down in the Hive well aware of what was going on. People of no consequence, in short.

Especially the hamsters, who, by tomorrow, were going to be dead. Whether Addison, something else in the Hive, or the bomb's nuclear effects reached them first, William didn't particularly care—just so long as they were eliminated.

There was a knock at the door, and William turned to it with a scowl, barking out a short, "What?"

James Anderson entered, looking shy and nervous, a stupid smile on his face as he said, "Sir, your limo's arrived."

William glared at him; and then stopped, stared at him carefully, amazed at the little effect this had on Anderson today; the man was acting like a three year old, bouncing around and giddy.

He was happy to be leaving Raccoon. All of them were.

And William was in a good mood today. He was ready to go, and in a matter of hours he'd have his daughter with him as well, ready to start a new life someplace far, far away from here. The ex-SWAT team in the Hive was screwed, and by tomorrow they'd be dead.

In short, William Archangelo was having an exceptionally good day so far.

And so he smiled at Anderson instead of rebuking him, a gesture that had quite the opposite effect on Anderson; the boy paled, looking nervous, as William said, "I'll be down in twenty minutes."

"I'll tell them, sir," Anderson stammered, before backing out of the room with a short, awkward little half-bow.

William watched him go, surprised at his inability to muster up any anger over the man's ineptitude; on the contrary, his pathetic display was almost amusing.

Looking back at the screen, William sighed. It was really too bad about Alderic. She could have been a valuable asset to his team if he'd had more time to work with her.

Right now the lab tech was staring at J.D Salinas, looking lovesick and ridiculously melancholy considering the circumstances; as if she hadn't been given the chance to escape it all, to leave the Hive and everything inside behind already…

But then, the girl was obsessed with J.D Salinas. He was the deciding vote, the key to her entire decision—

William sat upright, almost toppling himself out of his chair as the full meaning of those words finally sunk in, running through them in his head—

And then he was lifting his phone to call again.

Leaving a message couldn't hurt.

**xxxxx**

It was Day Eight.

Matt wasn't sure what he'd expected to happen when midnight came. If he would mutate fully and immediately, move on to attack his friends, or change slowly, gradually throughout the day, turning fully only when he least expected it. If the Red Queen would return again to taunt him, if he'd start hallucinating, thinking he was still human when all his humanity had already dissipated.

Maybe he was already hallucinating.

Either way, what he hadn't expected was the sudden, stifling silence that had settled over the room. No one was speaking; no one seemed even to be breathing anymore. There were no tears, no words of sorrow—

Everyone was just sitting there, waiting for his life to end.

Matt shivered slightly, and Alice was there immediately, face pale and set, pulling him close to her; but he could see the tears frozen on her face, the brightness of her beautiful eyes before they vanished from view.

Like a spell had been broken, the others started moving again, coming back to life. Alice pulled back from Matt, grasping his hand in hers and reaching out with her other, finding J.D's in the room; he in turn grabbed Michael's, who linked hands with Rain, who reached out and clasped Matt's other hand tightly, completing the chain.

And it was corny, and stupid, and a part of Matt felt like he was seven years old again, sitting around a campfire with his Scouts group, making smores and telling ghost stories. Ghost stories that he'd always been afraid of, but never understood; he'd always sympathized with the ghosts, being forced to live longer because their lives were still incomplete.

And now he was that ghost, balancing on the brink of life and death, and as silly as their circle felt, it was what was tying him to life still. They were all connected, for the first time in days; sick and healthy, strong and weak, and nothing could shatter that, nothing.

And then the phone started to ring, and Matt realized Olivia was still outside the circle.

**xxxxx**

Olivia murmured a nearly unintelligible apology and stood, hurrying out of the room with her hands clasped over the ringing phone, not wanting to shatter the peaceful silence that had descended upon the room—

The silence that had been created in a circle she still was not a part of.

Not that she deserved to be. Not anymore. After all that had happened, it wasn't fair that she was even still with these people.

By the time she slid into the small room next door, the ringing had stopped; flipping it over and glancing at the ID suspiciously, Olivia was not at all surprised to see Archangelo had called again.

What she was surprised to see was that he'd left a message.

Archangelo generally seemed to get off on tormenting people over the phone; on guilting them into doing things they didn't want to do, on scaring them away from what they did want. Leaving a message seemed oddly flat for him.

Olivia wasn't sure whether it was a good sign or not. Part of her still wanted to scream at him, to blame him for everything that had gone wrong in the last few days; but every day she went further and further into a haze of guilt and frustration, and she wondered if there would have been any point to it anymore anyways.

Flipping the phone open and putting it to her ear, Olivia listened.

At first, it seemed like a repeat of the same messages she'd heard before. "Betray the group and escape!" propaganda.

But halfway through the message, something changed. Something was different this time.

There was another room downstairs, one they hadn't yet checked. The one Umbrella kept under careful lock and key, careful observation.

The room that would be a perfect place to store the anti-virus.

And Archangelo was unlocking the doors. The anti-virus was there; all they had to do was find it, and he would let them go.

Olivia didn't believe him. There had to be a trap in there somewhere; there had to be something missing, and she waited patiently, smiling when she heard him explain the rest.

That the doors in the room would lock when they found their way inside. That only Olivia would be able to escape, on her own, bringing a sample of one of the other viruses contained there for Umbrella's 'study' purposes.

Olivia stopped the message there, wanting to process what she'd heard before.

So far, it seemed solid. The room was there—and despite Olivia's not wanting to betray the group, she knew the anti-virus had to be there; it had to be somewhere down in the Hive, and that room was the only logical option. Most importantly, going there would prove beneficial to Archangelo as well; he needed the virus she was supposed to bring out of the Hive, and knowing that, oddly enough, made her trust his plan all the more. Archangelo was an asshole, but he was a self-serving one—and if he needed the virus that badly, he'd let them in the room, give them a fighting chance at saving Matt, to accomplish that goal.

The only problem was that Olivia knew that, besides she herself leaving with the anti-virus, the group wasn't going to be able to leave that room. Archangelo would have control over all the locks—Olivia had no idea what any of the codes were—and there was no way in hell he'd be letting any of them escape.

But Olivia figured she'd deal with that later. Right now what mattered was saving Matt. As long as he had a fighting chance, they'd work through whatever was thrown at them when the time came for it.

Olivia smiled, lifting the phone to her ear and listening to the rest of the message as it played through. Most of it was instructions, detailed maps showing a path through the corridor she could take 'when' she brought the virus and escaped.

And Olivia listened to it halfheartedly, finger posed over the 'erase' button, knowing the directions made no difference to her whatsoever.

She had already betrayed the group once, and there was no way she planned to do it again.

Good or bad, she was in this now until the end.

And then Archangelo's last words came over the line and she paused, finger shaking over the button as she froze, listening silently.

The message ended, and she hesitated, drifting over the buttons nervously. She should delete the message. She had too—the directions made no difference, what Archangelo had just said made no difference—J.D would never agree to it.

But the words were still playing in her head, and that strange part of human nature, that last desire to protect oneself was what moved her hand from where it hovered over the phone, firmly closing it instead.

It was what made her shake her head in relentless denial, telling herself she was saving the message 'just in case'. Just in case they needed a way out of the Hive. Just in case she needed directions to betray the group.

Just in case their situation came to life-or-death, and Olivia Alderic decided that, despite all her self-righteous talk, all of her high moralistic codes, she still wanted to survive this Hell—with or without the rest of the team.

**xxxxx**

Sitting in a circle like this, J.D was oddly comfortable. Michael's hand was hot and sweaty, Alice's cool and dry, and somehow J.D was hyper alert of everything—of all that had happened in the past few months, of everything that was still happening now. And yet he still couldn't shake that same familiar feeling, those opening bars of a strangely familiar song—

"Kumbay-fucking-a," Rain said flatly.

"Rain," Alice admonished her, looking up at the brunette, her face surprised; though why, J.D couldn't imagine. It was exactly the sort of thing Rain would say to break the silence, no matter what the mood was.

And then, in the middle of both girls Matt let out a snort of laughter; and then they were all snickering slightly as Matt admitted, "We used to sing that at my Club Scout camping trips."

"My mom sings that at Christmas," Michael volunteered, and Rain snickered at that; he grinned at her across the circle.

Sneaking a glance at Alice, J.D was glad to see that she looked slightly cheered; tired, but inspired.

She hadn't given up. It was Day Eight already, and she still hadn't given up.

None of them had.

Hope was often strained, and yet was always there, in the strangest of places. In a way, J.D didn't like to hope. All it did, in the end, was set you up for failure; to J.D, it was roughly akin to believing in fucking fairy dust or stupid shit like that.

But Alice… Alice always hoped. And it had rubbed off on them; there was always a light inside the group when Alice was there.

"J.D."

Olivia's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up to see her standing in the doorway, looking timid but somehow excited. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yeah," he said automatically.

And it was strange, somehow, how odd it felt to pull his hands from Michael's and Alice's and follow Olivia into the next room, where she shut the door behind them and they both fell into familiar sitting positions across from each other.

She cleared her throat. "Archangelo just called."

A wave of distaste surged through J.D, and he struggled to keep it from showing on his face; with all the backlash Olivia had already gotten from Rain, she didn't deserve the same treatment from him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she confirmed, her voice almost breathy with barely concealed excitement as she added, "J.D, he knows where the anti-virus is; he says he'll lead us to it."

The instant wave of hope and joy that washed through J.D at those words almost instantly diminished, replaced instead by an all too familiar suspicion. "Why?"

"Umbrella is keeping a virus in there," she said. "Top secret, very high profile to the top members of Umbrella; Archangelo says that if I can get it out to him, he'll give Matt the anti-virus."

J.D paused in answering for a moment, wanting a chance to think about this; to think about what it meant. He trusted Olivia, with his life. She was a good person at heart, and he knew she'd never betray them, would never leave them in this godforsaken place to die.

And she knew Archangelo. Olivia had worked with him for years; she had to have some idea of the way his mind worked, of how far he'd go to attain what he wanted—even if it meant compromising his plans for their team.

But that still left the question of their getting out.

"Okay," he said simply. "Good. But Olivia—after we get the anti-virus. What then?"

She shrugged. "I'm supposed to take the virus out to him," she admitted. "I think he's going to put the whole room into lock-down mode, and leave us down there."

Part of J.D was pleased to register the "us" rather than "you" Olivia had used, and that she had told him the complete details of the plan. Despite what Rain so obviously believed—that J.D only trusted Olivia because love, in her words, "fucked with your head"—the only reason J.D could logically trust Olivia was because she was so completely honest with him. He knew she kept secrets from the group, and he couldn't blame her for that; if he, or Rain, were in that position, he knew they'd be lying with every fucking word if it ensured their survival.

But Olivia was still innocent in a way him and Rain weren't, despite working in Umbrella's labs. She had never learnt the same incredible effect a simple lie could have on a person; the way a simple twist of the truth could bring another person's life crashing down and leave you sitting on top of the ruble, still building your own empire.

Unfortunately, J.D had been forced to learn that skill working with Umbrella. Without it, he wouldn't have survived; none of them would.

Which was, probably, part of the reason Alice had turned against Umbrella; had started working against them, even more so than her distaste of the experimentation they did. Alice was the sort of person too morally correct to lie, too empathetic to willingly hurt another person to advance herself.

And while Olivia obviously wasn't quite that self-sacrificial, she wasn't on J.D's level either. Not yet, at least.

Olivia finally broke the quiet, adding hesitantly, "I know that doesn't leave us with the best options, but… Matt will have the anti-virus, at least. We can cure Rain then, too, and at least it'll buy us some time to work out a solution."

"No," he said, shaking his head and smiling broadly at her. "No, Olivia, it's perfect. That's the best option we've had since we started this whole goddamn mission."

She smiled, looking tired but pleased, and asked, "Do you think Alice and Matt will agree to it?"

J.D couldn't help but laugh at how quickly she'd picked up on their team dynamics; that Alice and Matt were already the unspoken leaders, that J.D was the general strategist when it was needed, that Michael was the unofficial source of information, and Rain was the almost psychotic fucking daredevil of the team.

"Yeah," he told a bemused Olivia. "Definitely. This is—this is the closest we've been, this whole fucking time."

"For once, we might actually be getting out of here today."

**xxxxx**

Despite the time frame Olivia had given them, and the carefully coded map Archangelo had sent her over her cell, it took the team over an hour to find their way into the corridor leading to the staircase Archangelo had indicated.

It didn't help that the corridors were flooded by now, and they were all half-swimming through the chest high water.

Alice's leg was throbbing with pain by now, and she was beginning to worry that it had become infected. She knew the sharks hadn't been a result of the T-virus—if they were bleeding, they were still alive.

But down here, in the Hive, viruses existed everywhere. And walking through dirty, possibly disease-ridden water with an open wound on her thigh was not her idea of a good prevention action.

Unfortunately, they didn't have a choice.

On the bright side, nothing had attacked so far. When Olivia had first explained to them what Archangelo had told them, Alice had half expected to be attacked as soon as they opened the doors. That Archangelo had gotten bored with the whole sad saga and decided to finish them all of quickly instead.

But of course that wasn't the case; Alice barely even knew anything about Archangelo, but she could already tell the man was one of the types who got off on other people's suffering. Somewhere above ground, in a padded office chair, William Archangelo was probably chortling with maniacal glee while watching their recent disasters.

When Alice got out of here, with Matt and Rain cured and everything back to normal again, Archangelo was going to pay for this. Of this Alice was sure; she'd find a way.

But for now she wandered a dank and dark corridor underground, Matt slightly ahead of her and the others trailing behind.

Rain at least was doing slightly better; after what had happened earlier, she seemed determined not to show any weakness. Despite being worried about her, for once Alice was glad for her headstrongness; it made the hours pass by much more quickly when she could close her eyes to everything and pretend everything was going to turn out okay.

And Matt… Matt was starting to look scared, something that terrified Alice even more than his hopeless depression had earlier. Matt had never looked scared, and despite his still remaining physical strength, Alice knew that something was going on inside him now—that his thoughts, emotions were changing rapidly and unexpectedly.

Alice wondered how much time they had left.

"Stairs," Matt called back over his shoulder slightly, and Alice hurried forward, asking, "Is the door unlocked?"

"Archangelo said the doors would open at two am exactly," Olivia said tiredly, Matt turning back to look at her as Alice checked her watch.

One fifty-eight—they had two more minutes.

"Christ, Rain."

Matt's voice brought her attention back to the room, and she followed his gaze to Rain, staring at her for the first time since they'd left the room.

The brunette looked terrible. Her eyes were ringed in black, skin pale and sweaty, and Alice flashed back to their last time in the Hive and the way Rain had looked in the final hours.

Exactly the way she did now.

She was leaning heavily on the wall, had obviously been for some time now, and was at least five paces behind the group. Alice wondered, with a flash of guilt, how she had managed not to notice it; how wrapped up she'd been in finding the anti-virus for Matt.

J.D and Matt were hurrying over to her now, and Rain looked annoyed at the interruption. "Fuck off, I'm fine."

Matt gave her a slight look off annoyance. "Rain, you're not fine."

"Yes," she said shortly. "I am. Let's go."

"Step away from the wall, then," J.D challenged her.

Rain sent him a venomous look before turning the same look on the rest of the group, obviously not happy to be the center of attention at the moment, and then sighed in irritation. "Fine."

Slowly, as if the effort required all her endurance, she straightened; and then, pulling her hand from the wall, stood erect, taking a step away from the wall and staring at J.D in open defiance. "You happy now?"

And for a moment, even Alice believed that Rain was fine; that the brunette was tired, but she'd be okay. That she'd make it through the next couple of hours until they could get the next dosage of the anti-virus to her.

Then, with a chiming sound of announcement, the doorway to the stairs swung open slowly.

And Rain went completely white and collapsed.

**xxxxx**

With J.D carrying Rain, and the rest of them forming a protective circle around the two in the event something actually attacked in this godforsaken basement, it took them another hour and a half to reach the basement room.

As soon as he saw it, Matt felt a sudden hope rush inside of him, re-energizing him despite all his attempts to stop it; he didn't want to hope anymore. Every time he'd allowed himself to hope in the last two weeks, he'd been inevitably crushed when it didn't pan out the way they'd all been expecting it to.

But this room… it looked like something where Archangelo would keep an anti-virus. Where anyone in Umbrella would keep viruses, if security meant anything to them.

The room was complete steel, gleaming in the darkness lit only by their flashlights. Though windows framed most of the room, they were obviously not ones easily broken; easily five or six panes thick, at least—

And heavy bars covered each window both inside and outside.

The door itself was an electrical marvel—the same stainless steel, covered in a massive array of neon-colored buttons, switches, and computer panels.

"Now what?" Alice asked, her voice edgy with suspicion and barely concealed hope, and Olivia looked at her watch.

"He said he'll send the code to get in through the cell phone."

J.D snorted. "That sounds promising."

But the phone was already beeping, and Olivia glanced at it once before handing it to him.

His expression must have been confused as he accepted it from her, looking at the code, because she offered a small smile and said, "You should do it."

Words that, once, would have made him incredibly suspicious now only made him smile in return, grateful for her unexpected insight as he turned to the panel, reading the code once and typing it into the monitor.

And then the door was swinging open and he was hurrying in, an action he'd realize the stupidity of later—

And the lights were flashing up, revealing white, fluorescent walls and a ceiling and floor of the same material—

And the silver case, glinting in the light, situated in the middle of the floor.

Matt stopped breathing when he saw it; beside him, he could feel Alice grab his hand, her voice hushed as she whispered, "Open it."

He did, dropping to his knees, releasing the lock on the case and allowing it to open, revealing—

Nothing.

Not a fucking thing. No empty capsules, no decoys, nothing but a fucking empty silver case.

And part of him wanted to scream, and swear, and turn around and strangle Olivia, because she had led them here, and strangle Rain, because she had slowed them down, and fucking strangle Alice, because she had made him hope when he knew he shouldn't have—

And then the other part of him, the part that had known all along that he was doomed, did nothing. Just made him sit there and stare at the empty case, all too aware of the presence of the others behind him as they stared at him nervously, depression settling heavily into the room again.

All too aware of the door slamming shut behind them and locking, closing them into this Hellish eternity.

**xxxxx**

"Daddy!"

In all his years, William had never thought that a simple word could mean so much. That the image of his daughter, dark curls in disarray and face red and strained with her sobbing words, could ever be so beautiful to her.

Lea tore away from the guards holding her—Daddy's girl, definitely—and ran over to him, William barking out a harsh command to the guards as they made to follow her.

And then his beautiful daughter was in his arms again, and he was hugging her tightly, whispering, "Shhh, Lea, it's okay."

Scared, but amazingly resilient for a four year old, the girl's tears died down instantly and she pulled back to look at him, asked wobbly, "Where's mommy?"

He smiled at her. "We'll find her," he promised carelessly. Her mother was probably dead, but William had no intentions of spending his precious time trying to find out for sure.

But Lea, of course, was just a child. There was no use in telling her that.

"Sir."

William looked up at the speaker, one of the Umbrella S.W.A.T. members Umbrella had hired to replace the last one, and snarled, "What?"

"We need to leave," the man said simply, obviously not intimidated by his anger, and William glanced around him to see that the virus-carriers—_zombies_, some idiot along the way had taken to calling them—were shambling along towards them, obviously having taken notice of the fresh meat.

He glanced back up at the man. "Fine," he said with a careless wave of his hand. "Alert my pilot we're making our way to the Hive now."

"Yes, sir," the S.W.A.T. member clipped out. William practically expected a salute; instead, the man just turned sharply on his heal and left to carry out the instructions.

William smiled back down at his daughter, pleasantly happy with the way things were running. Lea was safe now, and things were still running perfectly on schedule.

"Would you like to go on a train ride with Daddy, Lea?"

The little girl grinned eagerly, one of her front teeth only half grown in so far, and nodded.

"Archangelo, Sir."

This time it was Anderson, still standing next to him unnoticed, and William stifled an annoyed curse, not wanting to alarm Lea.

He had to set a good example for his daughter, after all.

"_What_, Anderson?"

The man wrung his hands nervously as he asked, "Is that really the best idea? Ms. Alderic hasn't even agreed yet to the plan—"

William smiled, allowing one of the female S.W.A.T. members to take his daughter by the hand and lead her to the plane as he followed along in step with Anderson. "She will, Anderson."

"Yeah. Umm—but like you said, she's close to Mr. Salinas. How do you know she won't—"

"Betray him?" William interrupted him.

He stopped in his tracks, and glanced at the world around him. At a sun just barely beginning to rise, at skies of blue and pink, at fresh green grasses; at a world splattered with blood and gore and death.

A world of beauty, tainted by humanity.

"Because they always do in the end, Anderson," he drawled slowly, confidently. "They always do."

**xxxxx**

They'd been sitting here for four hours now.

The door had slammed and locked four hours ago, and somehow that had triggered something in Matt; he'd begun to scream, to smash the case against the wall, breaking the metal into shards of metallic paints and metal alloys, as Olivia had pressed herself into the back wall of the room, terrified that he would turn on her—that he would blame her for what had happened.

J.D had pulled back with her, placing a protective arm across her shoulders, and even Michael had looked scared, backing away and rummaging hurriedly in his knapsack for a syringe and the anti-virus, because at the time things had looked really bad—they were here, in this tiny room, and Matt was going to mutate if he kept this up.

And Alice had just burst into tears, begun to sob in hopeless desperation.

And somehow, that had pulled Matt out of his rage; somehow he'd stopped, chest heaving, and dropped the case on the ground, turning to pull Alice to him as both collapsed to their knees on the ground.

Matt had never cried. He'd only held Alice close to him, stroking her hair and murmuring words of comfort to her, an almost funny picture under the circumstances; that after all that had happened, it was still him offering comfort to those around him.

But Matt… had seemed beyond crying. Even when his expression was so scared, so worried—not for him, but for Alice—he himself had seemed frozen, a martyr to the fate that so obviously awaited him.

And the two were still together, and Rain had fallen asleep on J.D's shoulder, and Michael had moved closer too, putting his own head on Rain's shoulder—everyone finding comfort in the human contact.

And Olivia still stood here, still not a part of that human contact; still an outsider in this group.

And despite her best efforts, Archangelo's words kept repeating in her head, their spoken message so seductive to her terrified thoughts.

All of them were so worried about Matt, but no one had stopped to consider the fate inevitable to all of them. No one had stopped to consider what would happen when Matt finally did mutate.

That they'd all be helpless in here. No weapons could stop Nemesis, Olivia was sure of that. Once he mutated, they'd all be helpless, waiting, terrified, in this tiny enclosed space for him to attack, rip them all too shreds—

But that didn't have to happen to her. It didn't.

She had the virus. She had found it, hidden cleverly in the wiring of the door; in plain site, when one wasn't looking only at the code, at entering it in.

It was in her pocket now. She hadn't told the others about it; at the time, she'd seen no need to. She wasn't going to betray these people—she couldn't.

But how could she just sit in here, staring, waiting for that inevitable fate? She wasn't a part of this group, she never would be. She couldn't be. She had already fucked up her chances, Rain was dying because of her—

Matt was still dying because of her. Because she'd believed Archangelo, walked right into this fucking trap, and now she was screwed. The group wouldn't trust her now, they couldn't. She'd be the first one Matt would go for, and nobody here would lift a finger to stop him—

Except for J.D.

She paused, drawing in a shaky breath. J.D was still, was always, the exception to the rule. He still cared about her, he still protected her—he still loved her.

She couldn't betray him.

_"And Ms. Alderic? Mr. J.D Salinas, of course, will be permitted to accompany you."_

She wouldn't have to.

And before she knew what she was doing, she was drawing her gun out, unlocking the safety.

Like a bomb going off in the silent room, everyone turned to stare at her as she shoved the barrel of it into Michael's forehead, gripping the back of his shirt in her fist and pulling him to his feet.

He was heavy, but with a gun pointed at his head, he moved fairly easily.

"I can't," she broke the silence, her hand shaking, finger posed above the trigger. "I'm sorry. Michael, I won't hurt you. I just—I can't stay here."

And she looked at Alice, and for a moment, wanted to take back the words. The blonde's eyes were wide not in anger or hatred, but in simple worry, and she suddenly felt tremendous guilt over what she was going to do.

But then she made the mistake at looking at Rain, at seeing the blunt, unadulterated hatred—and worst of all, confirmation—written across her face, and realized she was making the right choice.

She couldn't be a part of this anymore.

She was back by the door now, Michael still in front of her. None of the group had even moved for their weapons. Maybe they were afraid it would set her off; maybe they thought she couldn't shoot him.

Maybe they knew it was already too late to care anymore.

"Archangelo's offered me a deal," she babbled. "And I didn't want to take it. And I really, really didn't mean to bring you all here, I swear. I thought I was doing the right thing—I thought I was finally going to fix everything I'd done wrong here."

She realized that she was crying, the tears making thin trails down her cheeks as she waited for them to respond.

Nobody did. Even Rain, still sitting by the wall, was silent.

"But I'm allowed to take someone with me," she announced, her voice tinny in the suddenly cavernous room. "J.D—"

She wasn't sure what kind of expression she'd expected from him when she'd said the words, but it wasn't the pure and utter shock she saw on his face when he turned to look fully at her.

Obviously realizing she was waiting for an answer, J.D cleared his throat and said slowly, "You want me to leave with you."

She nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I couldn't just leave without trying to save you too, J.D. You don't have to, I'll understand if you don't. It's just—"

She paused, suddenly feeling stupid and tiny as she repeated, "I can't stay here."

And then the room was silent as everyone stared at J.D, obviously waiting for an answer from him.

He was silent, still staring at her. His eyes were dark, and for the first time, Olivia had no idea what he was thinking.

Staring at those eyes, she felt her last hopes begin to deflate. He wasn't going to leave with her, he couldn't. J.D wasn't a coward, not like her—he wouldn't just leave his team to survive—

"Yeah."

J.D's voice, raspy and tired, broke the silence as he stood. "Yeah, I'll come with you."

Olivia felt bad for the smile that spread over her face at his words—despite her words, she couldn't leave him, still couldn't betray him.

J.D took a quick glance around the room before looking at Rain, obviously realizing that she was the only one he really needed to say anything to. "Rain, I'm—"

"Fuck off, J.D," she said, and the funny thing was that she didn't even look angry anymore; only exhausted, only miserable, as she added, "Just fuck off."

A flash of guilt spread across J.D's features; and then it vanished as quickly as it had come, and he was walking over, taking her hand.

She pulled her gun away from Michael's head, whispering, "Sorry", as he hurried away.

And then the door was swinging open, and they were hurrying through it together, making their way back through a water-logged corridor to salvation.

The door slammed shut behind them.


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Ashes to Ashes

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes:

Yay, eleven reviews! Thus, I can continue with the weekly updates:) Please, please keep up with the reviews though! Only three chapters left, including this one. :)

Thanks goes out of course to all my fantastic reviewers, particularly for chapter sixteen: masked-in-your-shadows, SangoLancer200, XMaster, Narimon's Tamer, Tashmal, anonymous (because the little smile never shows on this format!), MysticSuperSavianGohan, rain1657, VaderX, Mae, and Gabzilla.

Thanks also goes out, par usual, to those who read and don't review—I appreciate it, though I beg you to review at least occasionally as well :)

Still hate fanfiction (dot) net, for those wondering. Now it refuses to send me my reviews and updates. I keep enabling them, and coming back like, ten bloody minutes later to see them disabled again.

And imagine my annoyance, when, midway through my review notes (sorry they're so late; I've been really busy) my stupid email closed down. I mean, I have a system, and they were all half finished, so I had to start all over again! Most annoying.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Seventeen: Ashes to Ashes

Fifty seven minutes had passed since J.D and Olivia had left.

For fifty seven minutes they'd all been sitting here, silent and lost, watching Rain steadily losing her grip on reality and Matt gradually change into something he wasn't, was never supposed to become.

And through all this time, Michael couldn't stop thinking about J.D and Olivia. Imagining what they must have been doing at this very moment.

When they'd first escaped, and he'd sworn angrily and kicked the door, ignoring Alice completely when she told him to calm down, J.D and Olivia had been making their way up the stairs again.

When he'd finally stopped, forced himself to calm down with the knowledge that his own anger could set Matt's off, J.D and Olivia had probably already reached the next level of the Hive, were hurrying through it at this very minute.

And now, sitting here on the floor, with Rain cradled against him, Michael still wondered where they were, what was happening to them. Assuming nothing stood in their way, he estimated they'd make their way to wherever Archangelo planned to pick them up in about two hours, probably less.

He hoped something stopped them, though. Michael wasn't a vicious person, not by nature; he generally hoped everything would turn out okay in the end, believed firmly in second chances, and had never liked having his worst suspicions confirmed.

But all that aside, right now he was consumed by an angry hatred unlike anything he'd ever known before. He'd certainly never thought it'd be directed towards J.D, though, or even Olivia.

But Olivia had betrayed them. And J.D… J.D had betrayed them too. But they knew J.D, all of them—especially Alice, especially Rain, and for him to just up and leave when things got too difficult to deal with—

It was cowardly, fucking cowardly. And now all that Michael could think of was plausible death scenarios for the two of them, each more vivid and brutal than the last.

Rain was tense, and he could feel it through her entire body; upset, probably angry, about J.D, she wouldn't sleep again. Knowing her, she'd stay awake until she died or passed out, whichever came first.

Michael hoped it was the second one. They had all the ammunition, but… he wasn't going to shoot Rain. He couldn't. He'd gotten close to Rain in these last few days, and it was just… something he couldn't do.

Just like Alice wouldn't shoot Matt. They'd have to take turns, he supposed. He'd take care of Matt if she'd take care of Rain.

He shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts from his head. It wasn't too late; he couldn't give up.

But deep down, even the stupid, optimistic little hope he'd had since starting this mission had vanished, struck by the realization that this was something none of them would be escaping from.

Except, of course, for J.D.

Unable to stop himself, he let out a slight snort of disgust. Right now, J.D and Olivia were probably on the train, making out in the back while Archangelo drove them off to some new Umbrella haven. Maybe J.D could rejoin the S.W.A.T. team again, and that way, next time they saw him, Michael would be able to shoot his goddamn head off.

He sighed, nervous despite himself at his words. He wasn't usually an angry person.

But he was shaking now, shaking in anger and hatred and cold—

He frowned, wondering what part of his brain had supplied the last adjective. How could it be cold in here? They were in a locked in room, about five thousand feet below ground—

And then he felt it again. A strong, frigid breeze, blowing at the back of his shirt.

He restrained the urge to jump up, carefully sitting up instead and calling out, "Alice!"

She looked up from where she sat with Matt, the two sitting side by side, pressed back against the wall in an absurd parallel to Michel and Rain, and asked tiredly, "What, Michael?"

"Can you take Rain for a minute?"

She straightened up then, looking worried, and asked, "Is she all right?"

He shook his head impatiently. "Yeah. Just—"

She was up already, hurrying over to pull Rain's arm over her shoulder. Looking closely at her face, Michael realized he'd been wrong; sometime along the way, she'd obviously fallen asleep.

When he was sure Alice had a good hold on Rain, he turned and started tapping eagerly at the wall, well aware of both Matt and Alice staring at him in tired bemusement. He could still feel the air sweeping through the wall, could still—

"Michael," Alice finally said, looking thoughtfully irritated. "What are you—"

"Can you give me a hand?" he asked her. Looking at her face, he realized that she probably thought he'd finally completely and totally lost it and had to stifle the urge to laugh. "Please? Just trust me."

She looked like she didn't know how to respond, was obviously somewhat irritated to be completely out of the loop—but then Matt was there, carefully lifting Rain to him. The two shared one of their frequent nods, Matt's expression anxious, and Alice's a curious blend of confusion, curiosity, and worry.

Michael barely waited a moment before starting on the wall, feeling up the soft foamy panels. "I'm looking for a break somewhere in the fabric, anywhere we can—"

"Like this?" Alice interrupted him, holding up a corner of said fabric and treating him to the self-confident, sly grin he'd missed so much over the past few days.

"Yeah," he said. "Exactly like that."

And then there was a terrific ripping noise as both grabbed a side and pulled—

Revealing a shining metal grate set five feet up into the wall.

**xxxxx**

Guilt was a curious thing.

Hurrying down this hallway, Beretta still comfortingly in her grasp and J.D at her side, Olivia had expected to feel guilty, to feel the same self-hatred she'd been feeling for the last twenty four hours. After all, last time it'd only been Rain she'd put in jeopardy, completely mistaken; and this time it was the entire team she'd left down there to die, completely intentionally.

But right here, rushing down the hall hand in hand with J.D, Olivia felt a freedom she hadn't felt in days. She didn't have to be afraid anymore; she didn't have to follow along blindly. She was in control again, for once, and she knew what she was doing this time.

Plus, J.D was here. Olivia hadn't realized until now exactly how much she would have missed his presence if he'd decided to stay. J.D was a strong force, someone who consistently made her feel safe and protected—someone she hadn't been able to find in a long, long time.

And yet, in a way, she couldn't shake the feeling that she got whenever she thought about what J.D had just done. She had betrayed the group, yes; but she'd barely known most of them. She still felt bad, but… she knew, in time, she'd get over it.

But J.D had known some of those people for years. Those people had risked their lives for him, time and time again, and now he was just walking out with her like it was nothing to betray them all.

At first, Olivia had only felt happy about his decision. True love won over all, after all.

But now, having had a few minutes to adjust to it, she couldn't shake the feelings she knew were hypocritical, the anger and doubt J.D's betrayal had cast upon her as to who he really was.

They'd been walking in silence for over twenty minutes, and he finally spoke up. "So where are we going?"

"Archangelo has a train," she said, pleased he was taking an interest and not just following blindly. "He wants to get out of Raccoon. I don't know exactly where we're going; as long as we stay quiet about all that's happened, he says he'll drop us off somewhere."

J.D snorted. "That sounds safe."

She shrugged. "It's not the best option," she admitted. "But, I mean—it's better than dying."

"Yeah," he mumbled. He was quiet for a moment again, and then—"So is Archangelo tracking us right now? Are you in contact with him?"

She shook her head. "No. I was, but—he had to break off the connections when he left for the Hive, almost definitely. He didn't say anything, but… leaving them on just means more evidence against him."

She paused, then added, "He has no idea where we are right now; he just told me to get to the train by eleven am or he's leaving."

"Huh," J.D said, and that was it.

His silence was making her nervous, and she finally interrupted. "Look, J.D, I know it's not really the most well thought out plan. But at least we're not down there with—"

She shut herself up instantaneously, feeling a mortified blush rise over her cheeks as she realized what she'd just said. As if having already made a silent pact not to talk about what had just happened down there, neither of them had brought it up. And now, like an idiot, she'd started talking about it without even thinking.

J.D was silent again, and she didn't know what to say. Part of her knew that he wouldn't accept an apology; that going back on it would only upset him.

But the other part of her, the one run totally by her emotion and love for J.D, made her keep talking, saying, "Look, J.D, I know you feel guilty. I do too. And I'm really sorry—"

And then the breath was pushed out of her lungs as he whipped around suddenly, grabbing her arms and shoving her into the wall. Her gun fell to the floor, skittering across the cold metal tile loudly, and she realized suddenly that J.D had a gun in his hand, that he was holding it to her head—

And she realized, suddenly, looking into his suddenly dark eyes, that he'd been planning this the whole time. That he'd never planned to go with her, never meant to be rescued with her—

He'd set her up.

"J.D?" she asked timidly, hoping that, despite all knowledge, it wasn't true; that she could still somehow stop him.

"You're still involved with Umbrella," he said coldly, and she could hear the safety click off the gun as he said, "I want to know what's been going on the past two months, and I want to know now."

**xxxxx**

"Wow," Michael breathed quietly next to her, and Alice realized that, in all her life, she had never been so happy to see an old fashioned ventilation system as she was now.

She turned to Michael, beaming broadly, and said, "Michael, I could kiss you right now. I really, really could."

Michael, true to his personality, blushed; and she turned to Matt, saying, "Matt, we found it. It's going to be okay, we can still get out of here."

He smiled at her, but his eyes were still dull, a blue haze of sadness—but then Michael was asking how they were going to all fit through there, and she turned away before she had a chance to question him, saying, "We'll fit. It's not the best option, but it's the best we've got right now."

She gave a small sigh, happy finally for the first time in days—Matt still needed the anti-virus, but the train couldn't be gone yet. They'd hurry, they'd get there, and they'd get his anti-virus, even if Alice had to kill Archangelo herself to do it.

Everything was going to be okay.

"Getting Rain through won't be easy," she admitted.

"I can do it."

Rain had obviously woken up; though most would have been surprised, Alice found it hard to be by now; the girl had uncanny timing with her sleeping patterns.

She smiled at her, knowing, simply by the way she had moved back to lean against Michael again, that the brunette's words were far from the truth; however, she nodded, knowing that, while it wouldn't be easy, they'd manage. "Good."

She looked back up at the vent, and said, "I think you and Michael should go first then; me and Matt can follow after. There shouldn't be anything up there, not anymore, so I think we'll probably be okay with only a couple of side firearms."

She turned back to Rain, and said, "Rain, we'll help you up; Matt can go after you instead, he'll be able to help more—"

"I'm not going."

The words came out of nowhere, and Alice whipped her head around, her ears identifying the voice even as her heart tried to deny it.

And then she was looking at Matt, his face pale, drawn and set, balanced carefully against the wall as he shook his head, repeating, "I'm not going."

"I'm sorry."

**xxxxx**

Olivia's eyes were tearing up now, and it took all of J.D's self restraint to keep her pressed up against the wall, to ignore the same instinct that had existed then and still existed now, despite what she had just done, to protect her; to help her, even when he was the one inflicting the pain this time.

"You're still involved with Umbrella."

An accusation, yeah, but a pretty reasonable one, considering the circumstances.

"I want to know what's been going on the past two months, and I want to know now."

He'd been expected Olivia to put up a fight; to show that same strong spirit and resist, tell him to go to hell, shit like that.

But to his surprise she folded instantly, almost collapsing into him; expression suddenly exhausted, as if she'd aged a hundred years in that short minute, she asked, "What do you want to know?"

He paused, suddenly unsure. With everything that had been going on…

"What happened with Rain?" he asked suddenly. Might as well start with the basics.

At this Olivia closed her eyes, and choked out, "It was an accident."

"What happened?" he repeated, fighting the urge to either embrace or hit her.

"Archangelo and I had made a deal," she started. "I was going to lock Rain down there, and he would give us the anti-virus. I didn't know what he was going to do—if I'd known he'd be sending those zombies in, I wouldn't have done it, I swear."

He shook his head. "Olivia, you're not fucking stupid. There's no way in hell you actually believed you'd get the anti-virus, this time or that time."

"I did," she said brokenly, and he cut her off, swearing violently, unable to help himself.

"Goddamn it, Olivia, tell the fucking truth. There's no way you could have—"

"Maybe I wanted it to be true!" She was crying now, fat teardrops sliding down her pale face, tears he had to fight not to wipe away as she added, "I wasn't thinking. I just wanted everything to work out, I didn't want to think about what he could be planning—"

And despite himself, J.D understood. He understood why she had done it, and he knew how she felt. And yet…

"Rain could have died," he choked out angrily. "Do you understand that, Olivia? She could have fucking _died."_

"I know," she said miserably. "I know."

There was silence, and their heavy breathing echoed through the hallways. Olivia let out a stifled sob. J.D got back to the point.

"Where's Umbrella?"

"Last time I saw them, they were still tracking you," she confessed. "Archangelo, especially."

He thought about asking her why she hadn't told them this; why she hadn't told _him_, at least, and then stopped—what was the point now?

He wished he had something more to say. He could torture people, he could interrogate them—but to do that, one had to know what to ask, and faced with a crying Olivia, his mind went blank; he could no longer think of anything.

Finally, he settled on a simple, "What else do you know?"

Exhausted, she shrugged, and said, "Umbrella sent me down here three weeks ago; I haven't heard anything more since. I know Archangelo is leaving, but I don't know where he's going. Last time I saw Umbrella, they were busy tracking all of you and had no clue what to do about the Raccoon situation."

He nodded. Despite all he had seen, all he had heard from her in the last hour, he felt content; that was all she knew about Umbrella, all she had to tell him.

And although he fought to keep the words from coming out, they flew out anyways, and before he could take them back they were there in the air between them, hanging in the balance. "How long, Olivia?"

She stared at him. "What?"

He shoved her harder, just slightly, just enough to make her wince slightly; and still, couldn't hide his own wince, the tears starting in his eyes as he asked, "How long have you been planning this?"

She was crying again now, and said, "I wasn't planning anything, J.D, I swear. I didn't want to leave—I panicked. We'd been in there for four hours, we were doomed—" She paused, gasping in a shaky breath, and adding, "I'm sorry, J.D."

"I'm not as strong as you."

He nodded, and then stared at her, wondering what to do next. Memorizing her face, a face he had grown to love and couldn't find hatred for, no matter how hard he tried. Memorizing those dark blue eyes, dark curls and fair skin.

And then an image rose in his mind, one he hadn't called up for over two weeks, and he asked, "What about Spence?"

She took a deep breath, and then stopped, and asked timidly, "J.D?"

He sighed. "What?"

"What are you going to do?" she asked, her expression suddenly fearful and tired. "When you leave. What's going to happen to me?"

And he fought to keep his expression casual, even bored as he said, "I guess I'll just leave you here."

That's what she'd done to his team, after all.

Blue eyes swimming in tears, she choked out, "I thought you cared about me."

"That was before you betrayed us," he said coldly, and felt a sick sort of gratification at the pain written across her face.

He shoved her back again, and clipped out, not trusting himself to say more, "Spence."

She sniffled loudly, tears flowing freely down her face now, and said, "They call him Hades."

"He's a genetic mutation; when he was brought in along with the other zombies for testing, he was given the same anti-virus you were. But because he'd been infected by the Licker as well, it backfired; the anti-virus eliminated the T-Virus strains caused by the virus-carrier like it was supposed to, but it didn't eliminate the virus strains from the Licker. The Licker part got stronger, the zombie part got weaker, and his humanity disappeared completely. So they locked him up on the eight floor, where they kept all their other out-of-control mutations, and he stayed there until things started falling apart again."

After that she started to sob again and couldn't speak; and J.D swallowed hard, waited for her to continue.

Finally, she did, choking out through the tears, "Umbrella couldn't control him, so they implanted a chip in what served as his brain, upped his self-defense mechanisms, and kept him under careful control for one purpose only."

Part of J.D knew what her last words were going to be. Part of him had always known, and yet, he couldn't hide the shock when he heard them.

"Hades was created to destroy what's left of your team."

**xxxxx**

Things were not going well.

William watched, with an impending sense of dread, as Salinas gripped Alderic by the arm, shoving her into the nearest office room. The hand which gripped his brandy had gone numb, the condensation on the glass sliding unnoticed onto his fingers.

Salinas finished the job, locking the door behind him; and then turned and ran, even as Alderic stared out the window, sobbing hopelessly.

Ran towards the room again, where, if Archangelo wasn't mistaken, he would collect the rest of his team.

And then come and find him.

Archangelo cursed whatever idiotic engineer had made the door down there wired to only one entrance code; unless the train was gone by the time they got out, he was completely fucking helpless sitting here.

And it wasn't only himself he had to protect either; Lea sat on the floor, playing with a stuffed toy Anderson had dug out from somewhere, her expression quite content.

Or it was, until William barked, "Anderson!"

He was there instantly, prompt, nervous, and harassed looking as always as he asked, "Yes, sir?"

"Start up the goddamn train," he said shortly, staring at the computer console, the images already burned into his mind. Remembering suddenly the cold glass in his hand, he took a sudden gulp, the burning liquid tracing an acidic path down his throat.

It didn't help, and he was about to shout for Anderson again when Lea asked, her voice sweet and innocent, "What's wrong, Daddy?"

"Nothing, sweetheart," he lied instantly, the endearment slipping out before he could try to stop it. "Daddy's just working with some really dumb people these days."

She giggled; but still continued to look at him with those big blue eyes, strangely perceptive for someone her age, before returning to her stuffed rabbit.

"Archangelo."

Anderson's voice, and William turned to glare at him. "We don't seem to be moving yet, Anderson," he said icily. "I can't imagine what could possibly be so goddamn important that it'd take priority over that."

Anderson flushed, fidgeted, and finally decided to bite the bullet: "Sir, the train won't start."

"Something's wrong with the engine, I went and checked it out, but—"

"I don't give a fuck what's wrong!" Archangelo shouted, slamming his fist down on the counter. Lea jumped, but he ignored it; sometimes, these things just had to be done. "You get this fucking train up and moving in the next five minutes, Anderson, or it'll be you we leave behind!"

An empty threat, considering William didn't have a goddamn clue how to run these things; but then, Anderson didn't know that, did he?

Obviously not. With a short, stiff nod, he turned and scurried out the door, evidently having taken the threat very seriously.

And Archangelo turned back to the screen, watching as J.D reached the seventh level, taking out a couple of virus-carriers as he went, and realized, as he took another swing of brandy, that sometime along the way, things had gone very, very wrong.

**xxxxx**

"You what?" Michael asked, voice hushed, and Matt almost laughed at the shock on his face.

Almost.

"No." Alice, shaking her head in denial, eyes wide and scared. "No. Matt, we're close this time, there's still time—"

"No," he cut her off. "No, there's not, Alice."

She stared at him, expression a mask of pain as she whispered, "Matt, please—"

"Alice," he said softly, staying where he was, not trusting himself to stick to his decision if he went to her. "It's already too late. For the past hour—things have been changing. Physically, I look fine—but inside; I can't think, I can't keep track of what's going on. Everything here is a blur to me, and through it all, the only thing I can vividly see is violence, is blood, is destruction. I keep picturing myself hurting you, all of you, and I can't—"

He cut himself off. He didn't need to say anymore.

Alice was crying now as she said, "Matt, there's still hope."

He shook his head; and for the first time smiled at her, a smile of simple, unaffected joy. "Alice, there's always hope. Mine has run out, but you can still live your life—you can all get out of here, survive, stop Umbrella—"

She was still shaking her head, but even now the realization was dawning in her eyes.

She already knew.

It was too late for him.

"Matt." It was Michael's voice, breaking the emotion-choked silence, and Matt turned to look at him. The biochemist's face was dirty and tired, but strong as he said, "It's been… it's been great knowing you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything."

And Matt smiled at him too, realizing that he had been the first to start the inevitable goodbyes; and realizing, throughout all that, that somewhere along the way, Michael had lost his glasses.

And somewhere along the way, he'd lost the shy, uncertain side he'd seemed to always have, had become strong in a way none of them had expected of him. It would have made Matt sad to see his naiveté go if he hadn't known that, beyond all other characteristics, they would need to be strong after all was said and done. They'd have to go back to living normal lives, hopefully still sticking together; they'd have to forget the nightmares the past year had consisted of.

And Matt smiled at Michael, and said, "Yeah, Michael, you too."

He pulled Michael into a hug the biochemist obviously hadn't been expecting; and then Rain was there, the look on her face she wore when she was trying, beyond all else, to hold back her emotions.

He hugged her closely, unable to reflect, despite himself, on the time they'd spent together; the close bond they'd developed in the Hive and thereafter, all the stupid fights they'd gotten into since—everything that had made their relationship what it was.

And if nothing else, knowing that Rain would be okay now; that nothing Matt had done could stop her from getting the anti-virus and re-entering the fight against Umbrella.

They would need strong fighters like her—especially now that J.D had—

He pushed away the anger that thought quelled up; now wasn't the time for it.

And he gave Rain a slight kiss on the forehead, still, after all this time, unable to help the want to protect her, and then she was moving away, wiping her sleeve across her eyes and turning her face away.

And then Alice was there, her face openly tear-stricken, eyes the brightest, most beautiful blue he'd ever seen; and suddenly he was terrified, not knowing how he could possibly go through with this.

He was losing them. All of them, Alice—they would be gone. It wasn't him that would go missing, but them; he would stay in here, and live out the rest of his days alone, just like the first of his days.

And then Alice was in his arms, and Michael and Rain were averting their eyes as he kissed her soundly, saying so much more with that kiss than he could with simple words; her hair, dirty but fine and soft, felt like silk under his hands, all his senses suddenly magnified, and he remembered their one night together—something they'd never have the opportunity to experience again.

And she pulled back from him, eyes soft and awash in tears, and said tearfully, "Please don't."

"I have to," he said, smiling gently, and he could feel the tears start, streaming down his cheeks to mingle with her own as he pressed her forward to hers.

"I love you," she sobbed.

"I love you too," he said, and suddenly understood the meaning of those words, the passion, the beauty of them; the fragile, emotional depth when he knew this was the last possible time he'd be able to tell Alice that.

There wasn't going to be a wedding; Rain wasn't going to be a reluctant maid of honor, J.D and Michael, ridiculous groomsmen. He wasn't going to wake up in a sun filled bedroom, next to Alice every morning; he wouldn't be able to see that beautiful smile everyday. There would be no curly haired children, with Alice's blue eyes and his dark hair, running around the house and yard; and no grandchildren after.

He would never be able to tell her he loved her again.

And then they were leaving, Matt moving forward automatically to help lift Rain inside; and Michael followed, and Alice, turning to him, kissed him once more, deeply and passionately as if trying to memorize it; he could taste the salt of her tears in her mouth.

And then she too was climbing into the vent, and disappearing from view.

**xxxxx**

He was almost there.

J.D could feel it, those first, familiar strains of victory, of happiness. He had one more floor to go, and then he'd be there, opening the door, letting them all escape.

Of course, some of them wouldn't be too happy to see him; particularly Rain. But they could deal with that shit later; right now all that mattered was that it wasn't too late, that they could still fix this.

J.D was going to let them out, and then they were going to find Archangelo and get the goddamn anti-virus from him; and Rain and Matt would be okay again. They'd make it out of here, get back into Raccoon, and then—

Umbrella was going _down._ Until he saw the corporation destroyed, it's heartless, sick scientists burning with the rest of the garbage they'd created, he wouldn't stop.

They would work together, and they would make it there—together, they could accomplish anything.

He hurried forward, rounding the corner—

And stopped dead in his tracks.

Struggling towards him, looking much the worse for wear, was Rain. Michael and Alice walked on either side of her, arms around her to hold her steady, and all were dirty, black and smoky with plaster dust and clay.

Their expressions were even worse; Michael simply looked exhausted, lost and alone, while Rain looked miserable, only half-conscious of the events proceeding around her—

But Alice's face was blank, completely blank; the shell-shocked look of someone who'd just lost someone they loved, who'd learned their beloved grandfather had just been hit with a heart attack, or their favorite cousin had been shot in a senseless drive-by-shooting.

When he saw that look, J.D already knew he was too late.

But still, he forced himself to ask, trying to be casual, "Where's Matt?"

Alice looked at him, straight at him; and for a moment he felt small, insignificant and lost as she stared straight through him.

And then Rain said, her voice tired and angry, "Where the fuck is Olivia, J.D? Plan didn't work out?"

He stared at her calmly, hoping she would accept his words at face value. "Yeah, Rain, my plan worked out. Just not very well for Olivia."

She stared at him studiously, as if trying to decide whether or not he was lying; and then stopped, looking exhausted, like she couldn't make herself care anymore.

Only Michael asked, face showing mild interest, "You have a way out of here?"

He nodded, holding up the cell phone. "Yeah. We have to hurry, though."

He stopped, swallowed hard. Nobody said anything, and he finally realized that, if he wanted answers, he was going to have to be the one to say something.

"Where's Matt?" he asked again, and his voice was suddenly tiny in the empty hallway.

And then Alice looked at him, dead in the eye, and said, voice tired and lifeless, "It's already too late, J.D."

"It's over."

**xxxxx**

Inside the suddenly tiny, white room, Matthew Addison sat on the cold, cold ground, shivering violently.

It was over for him now. He was sitting here, alone, living out the last minutes of his life; the last minutes of his humanity.

And already, he was beginning to change.

He turned to look at his arms, shivering harder at the skeletal, metallic appearance they were taking, growing stronger and thicker; flexing without his wanting to or trying to.

He couldn't even control his own body anymore.

And his mind was changing too, twisting, and nothing was blurry anymore; it was sharp, in focus, burning holes through his eyes and brain as they twisted and turned, becoming stronger, faster.

And then the final stages of the transformation were taking place, and Matt closed his eyes, letting the last of his humanity slip away with no more than a single tear.

A single tear that dried, turning to liquid ice and breaking off instantly in a room that was suddenly so very cold.

Matthew Addison was gone.

Nemesis screamed.

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Covers head as readers lob pointy objects I'm sorry! I really am, but it had to be done. And before you ask, yes, that's it for Matt—for "Into the Light", anyway. I'm very sorry to all the Matt, Matt/Alice, Matt/Rain/Michael/J.D/mutated Spence/insert names here (hey, you never know :) ) fans out there; I do hope you continue reading regardless.


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Dust to Dust

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes:

Thanks goes out of course to all my fantastic reviewers, particularly for chapter seventeen: masked-in-your-shadows, SangoLancer200, XMaster, Destined to Fight, Tashmal, Estrea, MysticSuper, VaderX and Gabzilla.

Thanks also goes out, par usual, to those who read and don't review—I appreciate it, though I beg you to review at least occasionally as well :)

This chapter is short considering the normal amount of pages I write. It's also the second last chapter—Chapter nineteen, the last, will probably be a lot longer. Also, compared to the last chapter, this one sort of sucks:) A lot less action.

I've had a long, hard week, for the dumbest of reasons. So please review; it makes my day.

Still hate fanfiction (dot) net, for those wondering.

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Eighteen: Dust to Dust

"Oww," Rain hissed quietly, tensing as J.D slid the needle carefully through her skin. "That fucking hurts."

"Big baby," he said, giving a slight snort that refused to mask the affection in his voice. "I bet you didn't whine so much when Alice did this."

"Yeah, well, Alice didn't stick me in the fucking—"

"Oh, shut up, Rain," J.D said carelessly, a small smile of exasperation and amusement crossing over his face as he released the trigger.

Rain could almost feel the anti-virus rushing through her system—whether it was that powerful a dosage, or she was just hallucinating it, she didn't know. "It's not my fault," she insisted, glaring at J.D, ignoring the sharp, tingling pain of the needle. "It hurts more when someone stabs you in the fucking stomach, you know."

"Fastest way through the bloodstream," J.D reminded her. "Alice's idea, not mine."

Rain sighed, wishing he hadn't brought up Alice. The blond was standing fifteen feet away from them, guarding with Michael, and even though her and J.D were talking at a low, though perfectly audible volume, Rain could tell that Alice hadn't taken in a single word.

The girl was shattered, completely fucking broken because of what had happened to Matt, and Rain couldn't stand looking at her right now—it made everything far too real, made all of her thoughts of Matt bubble to the surface, threatening to overwhelm her—

She pushed the thoughts away, focusing on the palms of her hands.

In a way, she hated the anti-virus. Already she was growing more clear-headed, and the fuzziness of the last few hours was slowly evaporating; but she was still way too emotional to deal with it, and it was getting harder and harder to focus on getting out of here.

She bit her lip when J.D slid the needle out of her abdomen, wiping away a slight trickle of blood carefully before pulling her shirt back down and turning to the case.

He paused, putting the needle inside; obviously sensing her inner turmoil, he turned back to her, brushing her hair gently away from her face, and she lifted her chin to look at him.

"Hey," he said quietly, and she appreciated his efforts to keep the conversation private. "You okay?"

She started to nod, and then stopped and shrugged. "Yes. No. I don't—" she stopped, shook her head. "I don't even fucking know anymore."

He squeezed her hand, and she asked pointedly, "Are you?"

"No," he admitted, and hesitated briefly before continuing. "I know you didn't like Olivia, and I know now that you were probably right not to. But I can't—I loved her, Rain. I didn't want everything to end up like this."

Part of her didn't know what to say. She still didn't like Olivia—in fact, she hated her. In the timespan of a week, she'd managed to split up their group, almost kill her, and even held a gun to _Michael's_ head—Michael, who was so fucking innocent, so kind to everyone.

And she'd wrapped it all up by leaving them down there to die.

But J.D's face was pained, and she knew that he'd loved her; she knew that, maybe, Olivia had been okay.

When she wasn't running around stabbing them all in the back, maybe she actually had a good side hidden somewhere.

The funniest thing was that she still didn't know if she believed J.D's story still. That those had been his intentions when he'd left them all down there alone.

But she was too tired to care anymore. He'd come back; that's what mattered.

"You did what you had to do," she said finally, not knowing what else to say. "That's all that matters, J.D. Surviving."

He snorted. "I didn't do a very good job of it," he pointed out darkly. "Matt's gone, probably because of me."

Rain closed her eyes. "Because of Umbrella, J.D, not you."

He shrugged. "I made him believe he wasn't getting out of there," he said flatly. "I left you guys all down there, and that couldn't have helped."

Rain sighed. "I was the one starting fights with him in the first place," she said tiredly. "If it's your fault, then it's mine too."

J.D was silent, and Rain was glad; she knew that things weren't easy for him, but blaming himself wasn't going to do a single goddamn thing to get them out of this mess.

Finally, he let out a heavy sigh and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly; her ribs hurt, and she had a sudden flash of fear that she would somehow infect him with her virus when he was so close.

He kissed her on the forehead; and then he was drawing back. "We should go."

She nodded. "Yeah," she said dully. "We should."

**xxxxx**

Michael felt stuck in a limbo, in a mess of emotion and worry and fear.

In a way, his strength so far had shocked even him. Matt's words had made him realize how much he'd grown since all of this had started—that he was still the rookie in terms of knowledge, ability.

But it terms of strength, he was carrying the team right now; J.D and Rain had never taken a lot of interest in strategy. J.D was good at it, but unsurprisingly, he liked the work better than the planning process.

And Alice was empty, silent, lost. It was heartbreaking, in a way, to work with her; she hadn't said a single thing since her words to J.D. He'd expected her to be angry; Alice wasn't the type to break down and give up, even now.

But she wasn't even here, not really; it was obvious she was paying absolutely no attention to what was going on around her.

He cleared his throat nervously, knowing that Alice probably wouldn't be happy about what he was doing, but knowing as well that he couldn't just stand here anymore, staring down an empty pathway. "Alice?"

A slight pause; and then she turned to look at him, eyes tired as she asked, "What?"

"Are you okay?" he asked, and regretted the words almost as soon as they came flying out of his mouth. It was stupid question, the thought of what was inconceivable even to him. "I mean—"

"I don't want to talk about it, Michael," she said abruptly, turning away from him, and Michael could sense her closing off again as she did so.

He looked down at his feet, but couldn't leave well enough alone. "Well, maybe you should, Alice. We need to get out of here, and if you're still—"

"Michael." He turned to her, watching her blue eyes finally blazing with something other than depression and solitude as she said, "Leave it the fuck alone."

Her last few words were almost inaudible as she whispered, "I'll talk about it when I'm ready. Do you understand?"

He nodded, wanting to break at that point, listening to the tired defeat, to the guilt speaking volumes in her quiet voice. "Yeah."

"Good," she said curtly, and then she was turning away, staring at the corridor ahead of her again, and he was left with that same feeling of helpless emptiness.

And then Rain and J.D were there again, one arm still wrapped around Rain's waist. She was looking better, though; her face had gained back some faint color, and the familiar alertness, directly contrasting Alice's cloudiness, shone in her eyes again.

"You guys ready to go?" J.D said, his voice hoarse.

Michael looked at Alice, but she didn't answer; she only looked back at him, expression unreadable, and he understood finally that she was leaving it up to him; letting him take over, for the time being.

"Yeah," he said finally, feeling defeated and exhausted. "Yeah, let's get going."

**xxxxx**

James Anderson had never been much of a fighter.

Sure, he'd dreamed of it. What guy hadn't? He'd dreamed of it all the way up to his first training exercise here at Umbrella, where he'd been working towards a S.W.A.T. career.

Unfortunately, his dreams had been prematurely dashed when he'd been discharged, crying despite his best attempts not to, from the force.

His first run-through mission had been a nightmare; he'd had the skills, he'd had the ability, but in the end, he just didn't have the talent, that strange mindset it took to be a S.W.A.T. officer for Umbrella. He'd panicked; he'd freaked out, completely misfired, and killed three of their 'hostages'.

Fake rubber dummies, of course, but Jacobson, his training officer, had only been too ready to remind him that, in a real life situation, he would have currently been facing charges for incorrect procedure in an operation, and, eventually, murder.

So he'd ended up working as a personal secretary to Archangelo. Not the funnest job, maybe, but at least he was good at it.

But sometimes he'd remember those training exercises; or the times he'd gone to the range to watch the last S.W.A.T. team train.

He remembered every one of the people down there: Alice Parks, Rain Ocampo, J.D Salinas.

He even remembered Matt, his team playing the renegade thorn in Umbrella's side ever since they'd started working against the corporation.

They could fight, all of them. And most of the time, they'd been nice people. J.D and Rain had at times treated him like the rookie he was, humiliating him with their practical jokes and insults; but whenever some one else had ever picked on him, they turned the tables faster than he'd thought possible, standing up for him instead.

He'd found it funny, at the time, the way the two were practically attached at the hip; at the way neither of them followed the other so much as they simply shared a mind, were always following something else instead.

Alice had been far more solitary, and an absolute goddess on the ops. Rain and J.D matched her out of pure recklessness, but Alice had some sort of grace, on and off the field, that made her untouchable somehow.

James had never liked Spence; but despite himself, felt bad for what Umbrella had done to him. He'd never known Matt, but he'd watched the man transform, and wanted nothing more than to kill Archangelo, than to kill himself rather than stay with Umbrella.

So he'd sabotaged the train. He'd taken out a simple wire; something that could have been easily fixed, if Archangelo weren't such a technological moron.

Like it or not, it was time for things to change. James had been working for Umbrella for years, despite hating his job, because of the way it paid; because he'd been afraid to leave.

But things were changing now. Archangelo was leaving, and Umbrella was closer to collapse with every single day that passed.

If he was going to leave, now was the time to do it.

And so here he sat, waiting nervously outside the traincar for the ex-S.W.A.T. team to reach it.

For the chance to finally escape this nightmare.

**xxxxx**

It took them only slightly over an hour to finally reach the entrance Olivia's directions had indicated, a small, almost invisible train station set on the fifth floor.

And when they finally staggered into the blindingly white room, Michael leading the way and J.D, Rain, and Alice straggling behind, J.D's nerves were completely on edge.

It had taken them three different tries to find the right staircase to get here; evidently, Archangelo had thought it would be fun to screw with their heads for awhile.

To top it off, by the time they'd finally reached the fifth floor, the cell phone had gone dead, leaving them in the middle of the Hive with no fucking clue as to where they should go next.

J.D didn't know whether Archangelo had sabotaged the instruction he'd left on the phone, or if the phone had simply finally died on them. Right now, he didn't really give a fuck either way.

And so when they finally stumbled into the station, and saw the kid sitting on the steps at the entrance to the train, J.D's first instinct was to shoot to kill.

Fortunately, Michael's instincts were less extreme; he simply raised his MP-5 to his shoulder and asked, "Who are you?"

The boy looked up, and as he did, J.D realized he wasn't that young after all; probably older than he was. But his features were tired, lined, as if under some horrible strain which had manifested itself on his face.

And something about that face was familiar.

"James Anderson," the guy said, and the pieces clicked together in J.D's head.

"Archangelo's own fucking secretary," he said, and he could feel Rain's sudden recognition next to him as she, too, put the pieces together. If Alice recognized him as well, she gave no signs of doing so, only asking:

"Where's Archangelo?"

James gestured slightly with his shoulder. "Inside."

"While you're out here," Rain spoke next to him, her voice skeptic. "Doing, what—taking in the scenery?"

James just shook his head, still sitting slumped, looking utterly exhausted as he said, "I'm sorry about your friend."

That got Alice's attention; J.D could see her eyes focus sharply as she turned finally to look at him. "_What_?"

"I didn't know what was going to happen to him," he said quietly.

Alice gave a short sound of disbelief. "How could you not _know?_" she asked angrily, taking a step closer to him. "It was your own fucking experiment!"

Her words echoed through the station; part of J.D wanted to shush Alice, out of worry Archangelo would hear her. But the other part of him, the one that was just glad she was finally waking up again, stayed silent.

There were tears in James's eyes when he looked up again. "I know. You're right. But part of me—I don't know, I didn't expect that. I didn't think."

His gaze was apprehensive as he looked at Alice; the rest of the group looked at her too, waiting for an angry outburst.

Instead, the blond just shook her head. "You're not worth my fucking time," she muttered, and then, raising her voice, asked, "Where's Archangelo?"

"Inside the train," James answered quickly. "After it—happened, I got to thinking. And I—I sabotaged the train. I can fix it, for you guys—but you have to take me with you."

"No," Alice said instantly, her expression cold as she looked at him. "You can stay here, if you're so goddamn worried about Matt."

J.D ignored her. "Where do you want to go?"

The man shrugged, his gaze pleading. "Anywhere. I don't care. Just as long as it's away from here."

"We're wasting time," Alice said shortly. "I'm going to find Archangelo, and then we're leaving. If my team wants to take you with them, fine. Get ready to go."

She pulled her gun out of it's holster, dragging out another round of ammunition with it, and the rest of them moved automatically as well, pulling out their weapons and readying themselves for the scene that awaited them inside—

And Alice shook her head at them, saying, "No. You guys stay here."

She dropped the rounds into an empty chamber, slammed them inside and flicked off the safety.

"I'll deal with Archangelo."

And she was turning, leaving for the train's open entrance, black jacket flying out behind her—

"Alice?"

She turned back. "What?"

"There's a kid in there," James said quietly. "Lea. She's only four—Archangelo is her father."

J.D turned to Alice, wanting to see what she would say to this sudden complication of matters.

The whole time they'd been here, they'd had an unspoken plan—to take out Archangelo, however long that might take. While sometimes their modus operandi differed, from leaving him down here with his goddamn pets to blowing his brains out all over the fucking wall, they'd never stopped to consider that he might have a family—that he might have a kid.

A daughter, four years old.

A four year old witnessing her father's death.

It wasn't a nice picture.

Finally, Alice spoke, her voice cold. "Good for him."

And then she was gone, striding into the train car, and J.D could only watch, hoping that she wasn't already gone; that when Matt died, Alice hadn't died with him.

**xxxxx**

Her creaking footsteps must have given her away.

When she reached the entrance to the control room on a train much nicer and more well furnished than the one Umbrella's S.W.A.T. team had been provided with, Archangelo was just sitting there, his back to her, staring blankly at the video monitors.

The little girl—_his daughter_, some part of Alice's memory reminded her—was sitting on the floor at his feet, staring up at Alice with wide, innocent blue eyes.

Alice wondered what Matt's eyes looked like now.

"I suppose," Archangelo finally spoke, a slight tremor giving away the fear in his arrogant voice, "That there'd be no use in begging for my life right now."

Alice cleared her throat. "Not really," she said bluntly.

He turned finally to face her, and Alice sucked in a quick breath, surprised despite herself at his appearance.

His blond hair was fine, with a slight curl to it; eyes a wide, startling blue.

If he hadn't been a man, it would have been like looking into a mirror.

Pushing away her disconcertion, she said, "You'd better tell your daughter to get out."

"My daughter stays with me," he said stubbornly.

"Not if you want her to see your brains scattered all over the fucking floor," she said coldly, and Archangelo went white.

"Don't swear in front of her," he said sharply, and Alice laughed, not knowing why the thought of him admonishing her for such a thing was suddenly so fucking funny.

He bent down, whispering to the little girl; Alice couldn't hear what was said, and, quite frankly, couldn't care less.

Finally, all was said and done, and the girl was edging past Alice to get out the door.

Looking at her as she passed, Alice wanted to smile; but then she saw the bright blue of her eyes, the shape of her nose, and was only reminded of what she and Matt would never have now.

She left, her slight footsteps padding out into the hallway, and she looked at Archangelo. "You have anything to say?"

He lifted his chin, a touch of the same arrogance there, and asked, "Like what?"

She shrugged. "In less than ten minutes, you're going to be dead," she said coolly. "You must have something to say."

Finally a touch of humanity flickered in his eyes at those words, and he shivered violently. "Look, if you're not going to let me live, at least think about my daughter. She's only four years old, completely innocent—"

"Matt was innocent too!" she shouted before she could censor herself, and she could feel herself losing her grip on her emotions, gun shaking in her unsteady hands. "He was innocent, and you still injected him with your fucking needles and left him to die! How is that any fucking different?"

Archangelo smiled, the expression ugly and malicious on his face as he said calmly, "Addison was an unfortunate accident. Umbrella had nothing to do with it."

"What about Kaplan?" Alice asked viciously. "Or Spence? Were they just 'accidents' as well?"

He shrugged. "Kaplan was nothing to us," he said coldly. "Useless on the field, useless off it. And as for Spence… we needed to take care of the rest of you somehow, didn't we?"

Alice twitched. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I suggest you talk to Mr. Salinas," Archangelo said coolly. "He knows what I'm talking about."

"How would J.D know?" Alice demanded.

Archangelo was silent, and she stepped forward in a few quick steps and hit him across the face with the gun. "Tell me!"

"Alderic told him," he spit at her, an angry red mark on his right cheekbone. "She told him everything. I have nothing else to tell you."

She laughed, an almost hysterical laugh of disbelief. "Oh, I think you do, Archangelo." She tightened her grip on her gun, pointing it at him as she debated the words, debated the meaning in them.

Finally, she asked, "Why Matt?"

Part of her knew that it was a stupid question; that Umbrella hadn't chosen him, only taken advantage of what was already well into effect.

Part of her didn't care.

"Because Addison was worth nothing," Archangelo said coldly, and she could feel the honesty in his words. "We needed the rest of you—you worked with Umbrella, you could have ended up useful to us somehow."

He paused, the corners of his mouth turning up in an ugly smirk as he continued. "But Addison was nothing. A useless renegade guerilla fighter, playing at taking down Umbrella. Matthew Addison was a useless piece of shit, better off dead than alive—"

"Shut the fuck up!" Before she'd even realized that she'd reacted, that she'd screamed the words, Alice had slammed him in the face hard enough to send him spinning off his chair, clutching his face with one hand.

"You're going to die," she promised him savagely. "Do you understand me? You're going to die."

He was laughing, despite the blood seeping out through his fingers, and she realized suddenly that he was taunting her, taking her off her guard; trying to distract her, to make her forget what she was here for.

She forced herself to breath, forced the words he'd just said out of her mind; and when she felt calm enough to speak again, said simply, "Get up."

And her voice was strong, and powerful again, and she could see the difference in him as he did what she'd said, the fear flickering in his eyes again.

"Look at me," she said, and he did.

"I'll ask again," she said coldly, taking comfort in the coldness, not allowing herself to feel anything—not anymore, not after what had just happened. "Do you have anything to say?"

"No," he said defiantly.

She clicked the safety off her gun, leveling it at his forehead.

And suddenly something changed in Archangelo, and he spoke, his face flushing, eyes tearing. "Don't," he begged quietly. "I didn't—please, don't. Think of Lea."

"She deserves a better father than you," she stated shortly. "She's better off without you."

"No," he said, and he was shaking his head, tears starting in earnest now. "No, I'm all she has. Please. If you kill me, she'll have nothing left—no one."

Alice wanted to shoot him, wanted to kill him; wanted to make him pay for what he had done to Matt.

But a part of her froze at the words; at the memory of the beautiful little girl that had tiptoed out of here only minutes ago. At the knowledge that the girl would hear the gunshot; that she would have to see her father, see his blood splattered all over these walls, a vision that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

And then she thought of Lea's blue eyes; of the sky, of the earth.

Of Matt's own blue eyes, perfectly matched in shade.

"You know what, Archangelo," she drawled, her voice cold.

"I don't give a fuck."

She pulled the trigger.

And she could hear the little girl, who at some point had re-entered the room, screaming; she could hear the rest of the team crowding into the room, could feel their shock and apprehension as they looked at what was left of the man who had caused them so much grief.

She knew that, sometime or another, she'd have to deal with this night.

But right now, she couldn't bring herself to care anymore.

It was finally over.


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Candlelight

Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: After seeing all those clever disclaimers out there, I wish I had one. Any suggestions? I own nothing here but my own ideas.

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes:

Thanks goes out of course to all my fantastic reviewers, particularly for chapter eighteen: masked-in-your-shadows, Jon the Amazing, MysticSuperSavianGohan, rain1657, SangoLancer200, schneebly, XMaster, Gabzilla, and Faded Writer.

About reviews. This, as you all very well know, is the last chapter of "Into the Light". I'm well aware that there are people here who read and haven't reviewed once (I'm guilty of the same thing!).

However, because this is the last chapter, I beg of you to review "Into the Light" as a whole right now. It can be general, precise, a flame or complimentary, whatever. Whether you've diligently read and reviewed since I started writing (for which I thank you!), always read, just started reading, or wandered into this story accidentally and are now wondering what the hell this note is for, please, please review. Whether you've reviewed faithfully since this started, on and off, once, or never, please review today! Review with a twenty minute page response; send me a note. Send me a two word response; send me a flame. Send me whatever you want, but please, please REVIEW!

There. I think you all get the point:) (hint- REVIEW (please)!)

The third part of this series should be up in about three to four weeks. Probably. It all depends if I bring my laptop with me when I leave this summer. If not, I don't know. I wouldn't be able to update until after summetime, in which case… would anyone still bother reading?

"Video Killed the Radio Star"... I'm listening to it. It's great. Has anyone else ever heard it?

Busy, slow week, but… good :)

Me and fanfiction (dot) net have a temporary alliance. Not sure how long it'll last :) Hate the new format, though! _Why_ are they always changing?

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

**Into the Light**

Chapter Nineteen: Candlelight

The next four hours were spent in total silence.

When they had all first crowded into the train, the sound levels in the tiny space had been almost deafening—all three of them questioning Alice, wanting to know what had happened, all amid the little girl's continued screaming.

And Alice hadn't answered. She'd told Lea, in a harsh voice completely unlike her own, to shut up; the little girl had complied, and Alice had turned to them and said simply, "He deserved what he got."

And then she'd turned and left the room, walking further back into the entranceway of the train.

Sometime thereafter, someone had finally brought up the idea of actually starting the train, actually going somewhere; and yet, what was the point now?

Now that Matt was gone, all their urgency had disappeared; their time limitations had suddenly vanished.

But Michael knew that had to do _something_—that if they'd stood there, in that oppressive silence, listening to the terrified sobs of a little girl, they would have all lost it then.

And so somehow he'd ended up here now, controlling the train himself. It hadn't exactly been difficult to learn; James had shown him the basics, but none of them had trusted him enough to actually let him drive. He was a nice kid, but he worked for Umbrella, for Archangelo, and that was fairly hard to overlook.

At first he'd watched the walls around him, the low ceiling over the train as it'd sped along the tracks, the whir of machinery somehow comforting to him, and thought about other things. Wondered what they'd do now; where they'd go.

Finally, he'd given up on that, and lapsed into hazy quiet, just staring blankly ahead of him. They were about an hour away from the Hive; chances of being attacked were fairly slim.

The rest of the group had stayed in the room with him, probably not wanting to intrude on Alice. J.D was sitting in his own chair, only a few feet away from him, staring out the front window. His face was blank, and tired; Michael had no idea what he was thinking anymore, if anything.

Rain had taken it upon herself to see to Lea; despite her previous confessions that she was horrible with kids and had no patience with them, she'd had no problem sitting down next to the child and pulling her into an immediate hug.

Michael had no idea why Lea had responded; if Rain had been bloody and exhausted looking enough for Lea to realize that she was a victim herself, and had no intentions of hurting her, or if the child had just been too tired to push her away. But she'd folded into her arms, and stayed there the whole ride through.

Now she was sleeping, and Rain was looking up at him, looking like she herself wanted to sleep this horrible day away as well, and asking, "Where are we going?"

"I don't know," he confessed. "The train is on autopilot. I'm just… following with the instructions left."

She nodded, and looked away, and that was that; there was no more conversation for the hour that followed.

After what seemed like an eternity, the train rumbled to a stop.

J.D shot awake; sometime along the way he'd fallen asleep, and he glanced blearily around the room before his eyes fell on Michael. "What's going on?"

He shrugged. "We're here," he said, not knowing what else to say, not knowing where _here_ was.

Rain stood, balancing the little girl on her hip, and J.D cast a concerned glance towards her almost immediately. "Rain, I can take her if you want."

"No," she said simply. "I'm fine."

And she looked fine, looked better than she had in days by now, and Michael was glad to see the change in her.

They all looked towards the door into the next room; even James, who'd been sitting in the corner, silent enough that Michael had almost forgotten he was there, none of them wanting to be the first to enter.

None of them wanting to be the first to see Alice.

Part of Michael was terrified to walk in there, to see the shell of the beautiful woman Alice had been; he had no idea what to expect, whether Alice would be angry and cold still, or had finally broken down; had given up on this insane and desperate journey. If they would walk in there, to see her swinging from the ceiling, or slumped across the floor, blood pouring out from her slit wrists and pooling around her—

J.D stepped forward and pushed the door open.

They all walked through after him, and, despite having known the fairly ridiculous odds of Alice actually having committed suicide, Michael couldn't help but be relieved when he saw that the room was empty and Alice stood outside, a solid outline against the bright sun.

Walking out of the train was like being born again, like waking up in a whole new world. For the first time in weeks, maybe even months, he was seeing nature again; trees, and grass, sunshine and clouds. For the first time in ages, he wasn't locked inside a safe house, or worse, underground; he felt free, and almost safe again.

But then he heard the zombies crying out in the distance, saw the blood splattered across the once pristine white sidewalks, and knew that there was no safe place in Raccoon anymore.

"What now?" Alice asked quietly. "Where are we going?"

Looking at her, at her blond hair, flaming in the sunlight, and bright blue eyes, Michael realized her eyes were red; she'd obviously been crying.

He shrugged slightly. "I don't know," he admitted.

"Archangelo had a plan," James blurted out, and they turned to face him, Lea rubbing her eyes, obviously having already woken up.

"So what's the plan?" Rain asked, looking bored and suspicious as she shifted Lea higher on her hip. "And no bullshit."

"Someone's picking her up," James said, nodding towards Lea. "Her aunt, or something. And then a helicopter was supposed to come for the rest of us."

Rain raised an eyebrow. "The rest of us?" she asked dryly.

"You're not coming with us," Alice said flatly, and Michael was glad to see that some of the anger had gone from her eyes; that now she merely looked tired, and determined.

James fidgeted. "Then where am I supposed to go?" he asked uncertainly, looking around. "I mean—Raccoon's going to be detonated in a few hours."

At that, Rain gave an annoyed snort. "Yeah, right."

But Alice had a look of both concentration and dislike on her face, and Michael could tell that she believed his words.

J.D confirmed it, glancing at Rain as he said, "He's telling the truth. In about three hours, Raccoon's going to be gone."

"How would you know?" she asked sharply. J.D gave her a tired look, and an unspoken message passed between them; she turned away, saying shortly, "Olivia. Right."

"Yeah," James said uncertainly. "Umm. So where am I supposed to go then?"

"You know what, James?" J.D said shortly, glaring at him. "None of us really give a fuck. So maybe you should just shut the hell up."

James looked scared, and Michael, exasperated with the whole stupid situation, was opening his mouth to try and establish a shaky measure of peace when Rain, surprisingly, spoke up.

"He can go with Lea," she said, and looked down at the little girl. "Would that be okay with you, Lea?"

The little girl looked at her, and then turned those huge blue eyes on James before nodding slowly. Looking at her, Michael was struck by the lack of innocence on such a young girl's face; by the quiet despair written in Lea's eyes.

If this day was going to be remembered by them for days to come, it had definitely already shaped Lea's; had turned her into a quiet shell of herself, made her begin growing up way too fast.

And somehow, despite all Michael had seen and done since joining with this group—all the monsters he'd killed, all the things he'd learned to adjust his moralistic code for, this was the sin he felt most guilty for.

A car engine broke his thoughts; and then they were all looking up as a blue car sped towards them.

J.D and Michael pulled out their weapons immediately; Alice, who already had hers out, didn't bother, only moving to flick off the safety before turning it on the person in the car, now pulling up beside them.

The engine died; and then the door was opening, and a woman was getting out, her long, dark hair holding the same curl Lea's did. There was no trace of Archangelo in her face; whoever she was, she was obviously related to Lea's mother rather than father.

She stopped, looking hesitant as she asked, "Where's William?"

It took a moment for Michael to realize who she was talking about, and then Alice said sharply, "He's dead. Are you here to pick up Lea?"

The woman's face went white, and Michael sent a sharp glare towards Alice, pushing away the automatic sympathy that came with the anger when he looked at Alice. "Alice."

She glanced at him, her face devoid of emotion, and he didn't know what to say.

"Give me Lea," the woman said sharply to Rain. The brunette looked pissed; and Lea burst into tears, burrowing her face into Rain's neck.

The woman let out a sigh of annoyance, barely concealing her obvious fear as she said, "Lea, I'm your auntie. Don't you remember?"

"Get in the car," Rain said sharply, and she gave her a look of disbelief.

"What? That's my _niece_, I'm not just going to let you people—"

"Get in the car," Rain said with exaggerated patience, "And James and Lea will both go with you."

The woman gave a short sigh. "Why? I don't—"

"Because I don't trust you," Rain said bluntly. "And Lea doesn't seem to either. She trusts James, so that's who she's going with. Either deal with that, or fuck off."

The woman looked irritated by this news; and yet the nervousness was still in her features, and Michael realized that she was afraid of them.

"Look," he said quietly, and she turned to look at him. "You don't have to be afraid of us—"

"I'm not," she said sharply, but he cut her off before she could continue.

"Rain's been watching Lea for hours now—she's not going to hurt her. None of us are."

"Then why did you kill William?" she challenged him, and for a moment Michael wondered how she could have possibly figured that out just by looking at them.

Then he considered Alice's words, and the fact that they were all covered in blood; the traumatized look of Lea, and realized it would have been more unlikely for her not to have noticed.

He paused, wondering what he should say; and then Alice spoke.

"Your brother-in-law," she said quietly, "Wasn't a good person. He almost killed all of us; he did kill one of us. Killing him wasn't exactly what I'd consider a crime."

"What about Lea?" the woman countered sharply. "Did you stop to think about how killing her father would affect her?"

Michael expected Alice to get angry; to shut out all her other emotions again, and bring in the same coldness.

Instead, her face broke; her blue eyes were bright with sudden tears, and Michael turned to the woman, saying coldly, "Get in the fucking car."

"I want answers—"

"I don't think you understand," Rain said sharply, glaring at her. "We have weapons, you don't."

"So get in the goddamn car before we decide to use them," J.D said coldly, leveling his gun at her for good measure.

She got in the car.

Rain handed Lea to James, looking surprisingly reluctant, and said, "Take care of her."

There was both a pleading and threatening tone to her voice; like she'd know if James wasn't doing what she'd just told him, and hunt him down and get him for it.

James nodded, looking almost respectful.

And then he got into the car, taking Lea with him, and slammed the door behind him.

And even as the car was speeding away, the dust kicked up by it's tires and unmistakable sound of an engine revving fading into the distance, they could hear a helicopter beating above them.

**xxxxx**

Getting into the helicopter hadn't been difficult.

There'd been a few problems of course—mostly from the crew manning it, wondering who the hell they were and where their boss was.

Fortunately, a few well-aimed threats and flashing of their weapons convinced them that they weren't going to put up with their shit, and within a few minutes, they were in the air.

They'd landed a few miles east of Nevada, and had met up there with a black limousine. There they'd had a repeat of the same situation; again, they'd taken care of it.

And now they were pulling up to the Bellagio hotel, set into the middle of the Las Vegas strip, the bright, flashy lights and gaudy appearances almost asinine considering their current situation.

They all piled out of the car, and J.D wanted to laugh looking around him; at the strip clubs, practically jumping out at him, at the trendy little restaurants and huge, sparkling casinos.

"Vegas, baby," Rain muttered next to him, and he grinned, unable to help it.

With a bit of persuasion, the driver gave up the card Archangelo had taken for his reservations.

And then J.D was swaggering in through the front door, his arm around an equally idiotic looking Rain, and Michael and Alice slightly paled pantomimes of the same act behind them.

The concierge took one look at them, and then a man was hurrying over, black suit impeccable as he said pompously, "I'm sorry, but we only allow specific patrons entrance into this hotel."

J.D grinned at him, raising his own eyebrows arrogantly as he handed him the card.

The man paled.

"Mr. Archangelo! I'm so sorry sir. We've had your reservations for months now, the room is set up the way you wanted it—we expected you much earlier, I'm terribly sorry—"

"I don't care when you expected him," Rain said irately next to him. "We're here now, so get a fucking move on."

"Ms. Archangelo," the man said, offering her a stiff nod, trying to cover up his irritation. "Of course. Terribly sorry."

And suddenly, J.D wanted to laugh; after all the events of this horrible day, after seeing Matt for the last time, leaving Olivia behind, after all the terrible things that had happened; how stupid, that they were standing in this fancy hotel, covered in blood and dirt, exhausted as always—and yet everyone was suddenly running around them, eager now to help.

It was already too fucking late.

But the concierge was already there, a five person team there to do what, J.D didn't know—it wasn't as if they had any fucking luggage or anything—and they were being escorted into the nearest elevator, well on the way to their room.

**xxxxx**

_"I thought you cared about me," Olivia said brokenly, eyes full of tears. _

_"I don't," J.D said bluntly. "I never did."_

_Someone in his head was screaming, "That's not true, those _aren't_ the right words!"_

_But he was raising his gun anyways, leveling it at her—_

_And then Rain was there, glaring at him. "This is your fault," she said angrily. She was bleeding, the wound on her neck worse than ever—_

_And then the gun fired, and Olivia's head was exploding onto the glass wall behind him. _

"J.D."

_The sound of running water was pounding in his ears now, and J.D was standing outside the shower and bathtub combination, looking at the white curtain as it rapidly darkened to red. _

"J.D."

_He didn't want to look inside; but she was calling him, and so he reached forward and pulled back the curtain.  
_

_Olivia lay inside, submerged in bloody water, dressed in the same paper dresses Alice and Rain had been dressed in while in Umbrella's hospital so many weeks ago—_

_He stumbled back, trying not to throw up, tears burning in his eyes as he realized that Rain was there too, sitting on the inside edge of the bathtub, her white dress stained with blood._

_"What are you crying about?" she asked sharply. "You did it,_

"J.D."

J.D jerked awake, breathing hard.

Alice was sitting on the bed across from him still, gazing at him measurably. "You okay?"

He thought about telling her about the dream he'd just had—but looking at her, realized that she wouldn't hear a word anyway. Her eyes were still blank, empty; she had been

ever since they'd arrived here. Insistent on focusing on what to do next against Umbrella, she hadn't even mentioned Matt; hadn't spoken about anything personal to her, despite all their best attempts to persuade her to do so.

"Yeah," he said instead. "Fine."

She nodded. "Rain just left," she said quietly. "She looked upset—she said she was going to the pool."

A brief shadow of pain flickered on her face, and J.D couldn't help but marvel at the complexity of her emotions; that only her worry for all of them could move her sufficiently to break the mask that had settled so firmly over her misery.

"I'll find her," he said simply, and she only nodded as he climbed off the bed, leaving the room, registering the sound of running water in the bathroom as he did.

Once outside, he took a moment to rest; pushing through the door that opened into the stairwell, he sat against the wall, holding his forehead in his hands, wondering how things had gotten so fucked up.

His high from before had ended; all that he wished now was that he had some actual drugs to keep that high around.

Alice wouldn't talk, and Michael looked exhausted; J.D couldn't even tell what was up with Rain anymore. At times she seemed fine, and then she'd become suddenly moody, taking off the way she just had.

Basically, ordinary behavior for Rain.

But still he followed her, because he didn't really know anything else anymore.

After a moment, he stood up; the last thing he wanted was for Rain to return back to the hotel room and have everyone out looking for him instead.

He wandered down the rest of the stairs, finally reaching the bottom level pool only to realize that it was empty.

He was about to leave when he heard the unmistakable sound of a person taking out his or her rage on a punching bag; a sound he was fairly used to, considering his previous workplace.

Sliding his card through the slot in the door, he turned the handle and walked inside; bypassing the pool completely, he crossed over instead into the workout room.

As he'd expected, Rain was there; dressed in black spandex with small white gloves covering her knuckles.

She didn't even notice his presence when he came into the room behind her, only stepping back slightly to send a roundhouse kick flying towards the bag.

Her face was red and exhausted, and he couldn't help but worry about her.

"You sure you should be doing that right now?" he asked quietly.

Her shoulders tensed; glancing back, she said sharply, "Does it matter?"

Another few well-aimed punches hit the bag, sending it flying back as he asked, "Where'd you get the outfit?"

"Charged it to the room," she said shortly.

J.D let out a short sigh, realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere with this casual line of questioning. "Look, Rain, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

He snorted. "Yeah, right."

She finally turned fully away from the punching bag, her face red with barely held fury. "You know what, J.D? I'm not fucking fine. Matt is gone, and you—"

He wanted to take a step back; for the first time in his fights with Rain, he was worried she was actually going to hit him.

Then she faltered, looking exhausted, angry, frustrated and close to tears as she said shortly, "Fuck off, J.D."

"No."

The word was out of his mouth before he had time to think reasonably about it, and Rain stopped, caught the swinging bag as she asked incredulously, "_No_, J.D?"

He thought about taking it back—but what was the fucking point anymore? She wasn't going to listen to reason.

"No," he repeated himself shortly. "Too fucking bad, Rain. I'm not just to sit upstairs and leave you down here to—"

"But it was okay to leave me alone when you left with Olivia?"

She was shouting now, taking steps away from the bag to get in his face, and he stepped forward too, shouting, "That's not the fucking point, Rain—"

And then she hit him, slamming her fist into his jaw.

The first emotion that hit him was shock; and he didn't have time to reach another, because Rain didn't even wait for him to react before punching him again.

He reacted then, shoving her back angrily; but she was still coming at him, fists raised, and he went into autopilot, throwing her back into the wall, and landing his own punch across her cheek.

She came flying at him with a roundhouse kick that sent him back into the wall—and then he hit her hard enough to send her tumbling back over a piece of exercise equipment.

He was climbing over the equipment before she even had a chance to stand, grabbing her shoulders and yanking her up to slam her back into another wall.

The blow stunned her only momentarily; and then she was up, taking a flying leap at him that brought them both crashing down to the floor.

She was straddling him, hands around his neck—

And then something inside of her stopped; something flashed through her eyes, and she stopped.

And then Rain burst into tears, holding herself up with one hand planted firmly on his chest as she used her left to wipe her eyes, covering her face when she realized the effort was futile.

And like he was coming back to Earth again, J.D finally saw her clearly; saw the evidence of the fight they'd just had already writing itself across her face, the bloody wounds that had just begun to heal split open again.

He sat up again, putting his arms around her back so she wouldn't fall back; and he realized that he was crying, could feel the salt burning paths through his now bloody face as he pulled her close to him, as she buried her face in his chest.

And then the door was being thrown open, and security teams were rushing inside.

**xxxxx**

The water was cold.

In fact, it was freezing, and Michael was just sitting in the corner of the bathtub, wondering what he was supposed to do now.

J.D and Rain were gone—Michael had no idea where they'd gone. Hopefully they were still in the hotel; worst case scenario, they were halfway across Vegas, working out their pain in some seedy casinos and bars.

And Alice was still inside the room, still utterly silent.

Michael didn't know which would be better—the angry Alice they'd all been blindsided with on the train, or a falling apart, weepy Alice they'd all seen when they'd been forced to leave Matt.

Anything would be better than cold, silent Alice at this point.

His skin was prickling with cold, and Michael reached forward and shut off the tap.

Silence echoed in the bathroom.

Standing, shivering, Michael stood, pulling back the pale pink and gold curtain to step out onto a matching bathmat.

Grabbing a towel, wrapping it around his waist, he peered tiredly into the mirror and was surprised to see the face staring back at him.

Somehow, in the last week, he'd aged dramatically. His green eyes, once so childish compared to the rest of his group, were lined and dark; his face looked perpetually bare of smiles.

The blood and grime was gone now, but the effects that had put them there were still written across his face.

Shaking his head slightly, he pulled the towel off again, drying off his hair impatiently before throwing it on the floor, not caring for once about any semblance of orderliness.

He yanked his t-shirt on over his head, pulling on the rest of his clothes without even trying to make himself look half decent before opening the door and walking out into the bedroom section of the hotel.

It was too late to avoid dealing with this situation.

He sent a longing look towards the minibar as he passed it, wishing that he could somehow drink this entire night away.

And then he was opening the door to the bedroom suite and walking in, still nervous despite himself.

Alice was still there, sitting on the bed, Umbrella's files scattered around her. One was in her hand, and though she was gazing at it intently, her body language showing every intent of reading it, it was painfully clear she wasn't taking in a single word—her eyes were hazy, exhausted and red, and Michael realized that she'd been crying again.

She seemed to come to when he sat down across from her, her eyes refocusing slightly as she looked at him. "Michael," she said vaguely. "Good. I think we should start working through these and figure out a plan for tomorrow."

He stared at her hesitantly, unsure of what to do. Alice was finally taking some degree of control again, and while he was glad to see that, he knew she couldn't keep doing this—that she couldn't keep pretending nothing had happened. Sometime, soon, she was going to have to face this.

Finally deciding on a neutral topic, he cleared his throat slightly and asked softly, "Where are J.D and Rain?"

Alice shrugged, barely acknowledging the question as she commented, "I've been looking over these plans for Umbrella's head corporation, and I think their only real weak point is their security. They don't check ids, and because they think we're all dead now—"

Michael flinched at the word; Alice continued on as if she hadn't noticed.

"Getting in shouldn't be a problem."

"Alice," he said quietly, and she looked up, face still horribly blank. "Would you please just… _say_ something?"

She had to have known what he was talking about, and yet still asked, "About what?"

"Matt," he said bluntly.

And finally she looked human, looked like _Alice_ again—her face was tired, lined again, and then the brief flicker of emotion disappeared again.

"We don't have time for that," she said bluntly, her voice breaking slightly on the last few words. Her lower lip was pushed out slightly; she looked on the verge of tears as she pulled another file towards her, tossing down the one she'd been holding.

Part of Michael wanted to let it go; to pretend, along with Alice, that nothing had happened; that Matt had been saved, was in the next room, fighting with Rain or working on his own deductions for Umbrella.

But Alice was finally there, was finally teetering on the edge between a breakdown and complete emotional isolation, and he knew that, sooner or later, she was going to have to face the facts.

"Alice, Matt's gone," he said quietly. "We have all the time in the world."

Her eyes were shocked as she looked up at him; and then she said, her voice icily, "I don't think you're in any position to be deciding what to do, Michael."

"Why not?" he said impatiently. "Alice, you have to deal with this. You can't just let it go—you have to face things, have to accept what just happened—"

"No," she said, her voice almost shrill as she stood abruptly, throwing the folder down angrily. "No, Michael, I don't."

"Matt's dead," he said angrily. "Matt's dead, and if he were here, he wouldn't let you be doing this—he wouldn't just give up on you, let you wander around like a zombie, killing people without remorse or reason—"

"Archangelo deserved what he got!" She was shouting now, face twisted with fury; tears were sliding down her cheeks, a strange paradox to her anger.

"What about Lea?" Michael asked, staring closely at her. "Did she deserve that, Alice?"

"I don't care," she sobbed. "It isn't fair. Matt shouldn't have—it's my fault—"

And she was finally breaking down, covering her face in her hands and falling to her knees on the thick carpeting as Michael pulled himself off the bed, hurrying over to kneel in front of her. "No. Alice, it's not—"

She shook her head. "You don't understand," she said brokenly. "I promised him, so many times, that it would all be okay, and it's not."

Part of Michael wanted to pull her into his arms; but he knew that she needed to say these things, that she couldn't just push it all inside again, and so he waited.

"And that little girl," she sobbed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

And then she was the one to make the first move, reaching out to him, and he pulled her close, letting her cry on his shoulder as she continued to mumble incoherently about all that she was sorry for; all that had gone, suddenly, so terribly wrong.

And he closed his eyes, let his chin rest on Alice's shoulder, and let all the pains, all the tiny sufferings they'd both undergone in the last six weeks, deafen him.

"I'm sorry about your eye," J.D said quietly, dragging his bare foot through the water.

Rain shrugged. "Whatever. I don't—" She paused, letting out a small sigh when she realized she had no idea what to say to him. "It doesn't matter anymore."

J.D was silent, and she took the opportunity to slide forward slightly so she was sitting directly beside him, dipping her feet quietly into the pool.

They'd been sitting here for just under forty minutes now, Rain nursing a split lip and numerous bruises and J.D holding an ice pack to a rapidly blackening eye and what was almost a broken nose.

When security had burst inside, they'd obviously thought the two of them had broken in to screw around or something. Then J.D had flashed Archangelo's dumb little gold card at them, and the idiots had fallen all over themselves to impress them.

J.D had sent them to get towels and ice; they'd returned within fifteen minutes, bringing along some fruit as well that Rain promptly began to throw into the pool, for lack of anything better to do while J.D wrapped some ice and held it to her face.

He'd then turned and told the security team, plus the dipshit from the lobby earlier, to get lost.

And they had; they'd just turned and walked out of the room, all the while offering apologies and embarrassed mumblings.

In a way, it was fairly sickening. Rain had gotten kicked out of fucking bars for this kind of behavior, for fuck's sakes… but apparently, as long as you had money and power, even the Bellagio could make a few exceptions.

And now they were just sitting here, half in, half out of the water, while Rain tried to figure out what to say to J.D.

She hadn't even realized how much things had changed in the timespan of a week. They had been so close—siblings, practically, and now she felt like she was looking at a stranger.

"I'm sorry," J.D said again, staring down at the water.

"Yeah," she said tiredly, "You said that already."

"No," he said, shaking his head slightly. "I'm sorry I was such a shitty friend to you in there."

Rain paused, dragging her foot in slow circles through the water, not knowing how to respond to that.

J.D took her silence as a sign to continue. "I wouldn't listen to you when you knew what was going on; I lied to you, I listened to anyone—I listened to _Olivia_ over you—"

"J.D," she said finally, "Stop. It's okay."

And the funny thing about the words were that she meant them completely. There was a time when she'd wanted nothing more than to hear J.D grovel for an apology; to know that Olivia was paying for her mistakes somewhere, that somehow, Rain had still managed to come out on top of this fucking mess.

But all she wanted now was for Matt to come back. For Alice to snap out of her funk and be the bright, powerful girl she was. For Michael to lose that serious look and go back to being her geeky protégé.

She wanted to be friends with J.D again.

"It's not," J.D said, shaking his head, looking out at the water. His face was twisted, moody, and wracked with guilt and sorrow.

Rain was quiet, flicking the water up with her toes; and then she commented, out of the blue, "I hope Lea is okay."

J.D glanced at her, his expression showing some surprise now, and asked, without malice, "Why do you care?"

She didn't know what to say to that. The truth was, she didn't know why she cared. She'd barely seen the kid for more than a couple of hours.

"I just do," she said finally.

For a moment J.D didn't say anything. Then, in one smooth moment, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard.

"She'll be fine," he said softly. "Better off than we are, anyways."

Rain snickered slightly at that. It wasn't a happy thought, but at least it was true.

"Things are really fucked up right now, aren't they?" she asked, an almost wistful tone ringing through the air to her.

"Yeah," J.D said.

"We're really fucked up right now too," she stated.

"Yeah," he said, and turned back to look at her; she could see him wince as he took in her swelled eye and cheek. "Rain, about what just happened—I am sorry about that."

She shrugged. "Don't be," she said simply. "I needed that."

And she had needed that, a way to finally let out the rage and anger that had been coursing through her ever since this entire nightmare had started; the frustration at her helplessness, her inability to do anything to help Matt and the others in those last crucial moments.

It was strange—fucking stupid, even—but sitting here, bloody and bruised, face still red after the emotional breakdown she would have found humiliating had it happened in front of anyone other than J.D—she felt more alive than she had all week.

J.D just smiled at her, withdrawing his hand from hers to twine it gently through her hair. "You're insane, Rain, you know that?"

She grinned at him. "So are you," she said. "We're both fucked up, remember?"

His eyes looked sad at that comment; still playing with her hair, he said quietly, "It's not over yet, though. Umbrella's still going to pay for their crimes—we're still going to keep on fighting."

She nodded silently; letting her free hand drift to J.D's lower back, tracing dainty circles there with her fingertips as he continued to run his own fingers through her hair.

Finally he pulled back, letting out a heavy sigh as he said, "We should probably head back."

Rain nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "We should."

**xxxxx**

Matt was gone.

Matt had mutated, Matt had died, and he wasn't coming back.

And finally, Alice was starting to realize that. The words were resounding inside her head, no longer alien but all too painfully true—she was finally waking up, finally realizing what was going on.

Finally realizing that she couldn't stay in this trance forever—

That Umbrella still had to pay for their crimes.

Her minor breakdown had lasted over twenty minutes, and Michael had been completely supportive throughout. He'd just held her, not even bothering with the idiotic phrases so many people had tried, over her twenty-six years, to calm her with; and for the longest time, all she'd been able to do was cry.

And so many different images had flashed through her mind—seeing Matt for the first time, the two of them struggling with Rain to leave the Hive; seeing Matt again months later inside Umbrella's hospital. That painfully weak-kneed sensation when she'd realized he was alive; the intensity of which had shocked her.

Matt's hands on her face, brushing her hair back gently; feather-light kisses and harder, more passionate ones. Waking up next to him in the middle of the night, and watching him sleep. Knowing, every time they went into battle, that he would be there for her—that he would keep her safe, just as she strove desperately to do for him.

Remembering that last, painful kiss; one that tasted of tears, of misery, of loss, and all too tangible love; the type of love that they'd only too recently found.

And then Matt had disappeared from her mind, and she'd seen the little girl—Lea—instead, blue eyes bright and tear-stricken, so uncannily alike to Matt's in those last fatal moments.

Eventually, she'd cried herself out; and while she'd expected to feel exhausted now, stricken with grief and pain and misery, she felt more alive, more awake than she had for the last twenty four hours.

The grief was still there; the pain of losing Matt was ever present, existing in every conscious emotion and thought.

But somehow, she'd managed to push it back, let it ingrain itself comfortably into her mind.

She'd deal with it when she could; when she was alone. When this entire mess was over, when they'd finally extracted their revenge; when they had Matt home again, and a grave to visit him at.

Until then, she needed to concentrate on the situation at hand—their group needed a leader. Umbrella needed to be taken care of.

Michael had done a fantastic job for the past few hours—far more than Alice had ever realized the university student was capable of.

Matt had, though. Matt had spoken to Michael even less than Alice had, and yet, he'd been able to see that strength hidden inside of him.

Matt had always been able to read people so much better than she could.

Now they were sitting on the bed together, staring at the tv. Some cheap movie was on—Michael had ordered it on pay-per-view. Something Disney, and light. She'd been surprised by the decision, until Michael had pointed out that, given their current predicaments, action and horror were more traumatizing than exciting.

Alice was only partially watching; most of her mind was preoccupied with plans for Umbrella, of what she was going to say to the group when J.D and Rain finally arrived.

And the other part, that part still joined so firmly with Matt, was in a league of it's own; lost with Matt, it left a gaping hole in her that she struggled to ignore.

When J.D and Rain finally entered the room, both bruised and soaking wet, she almost laughed.

Michael gaped at them. "What have you two been _doing_?"

Rain shrugged. "Ask him," she said carelessly, flopping down on the opposite bed and grabbing the remote. "What are we watching?"

"Thumbelina," Alice answered automatically, eyes still scanning over both her and J.D.

Rain glanced at her, expression clearly surprised; and then she smiled, and Alice couldn't help but smile back.

Michael was still staring at J.D, and so J.D answered lamely, "We went swimming," before flopping down next to Rain.

J.D, Alice was pleased to note, seemed to be doing well. Leaving Olivia the way he had was going to be hard on him—they all knew that.

But although his eyes were exhausted, he looked strangely content—the look, Alice suddenly realized, they all carried now.

"Turn off the tv," she requested simply. Rain did, if not somewhat grudgingly, and both her and J.D turned to look at her.

For a moment, Alice didn't know what to say—how to vocalize all she'd been thinking, all she'd been feeling this past hour.

Then she started to speak.

"For eight years now, I've been involved with Umbrella," she said bluntly, looking at all of them in turn. "Seven of those years was spent fighting for them—this last one, against them."

"For eight years, I've watched them tear people's lives apart; I've watched them create weapons equipped to take out continents, watched them engage in different forms of genocide. I've listened to their lies, their propaganda, their threats. I've watched them—_helped_ them—destroy other people's lives."

She was pacing now, gesturing animatedly as she spoke; and somewhere in the back of her mind she noticed the three had sat up again, were listening intently, and was grateful for it.

"For the past six months, we've been fighting against Umbrella. And what exactly have we accomplished?"

"Not a fucking thing," Rain said amiably, and Alice smiled slightly at her.

"Not a single goddamn thing. We haven't brought a war against them, we haven't even made any big problems for them—all we've done is fight to survive. And now? Now Kaplan's dead. Matt's gone. And Umbrella has created a monster created entirely to wipe us out completely."

She had been shocked when J.D had finally told her what Olivia had told him earlier, and she saw that same shock now, in Michael and Rain's eyes as she pressed on.

"For the past six months, we've been fighting an unbeatable war. And it's time for things to change."

She paused slightly, glancing around the room, energized by the enthusiasm in everyone's eyes; by the single competitive desire to take back what was theirs.

"We have three weeks booked in this hotel. We have weapons, we have Umbrella's files—we have everything we need, and in those three weeks, we are going to make a plan; we are going to start fighting, instead of just surviving. Umbrella has taken our lives away, they've taken our homes away, they've taken our friends away. But ultimately, we're stronger—ultimately, we will win this war."

Alice paused, took a breath; and then smiled, the enigmatic, confident smile she'd missed so much the past few days, and finished.

"Umbrella is going down."

**END**

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And with that admittedly corny line, it ends:) Just for those who ignore the author's notes (I would too, don't worry):

About reviews. This, as you all very well know, is the last chapter of "Into the Light". I'm well aware that there are people here who read and haven't reviewed once (I'm guilty of the same thing!).

However, because this is the last chapter, I beg of you to review "Into the Light" as a whole right now. It can be general, precise, a flame or complimentary, whatever. Whether you've diligently read and reviewed since I started writing (for which I thank you!), always read, just started reading, or wandered into this story accidentally and are now wondering what the hell this note is for, please, please review. Whether you've reviewed faithfully since this started, on and off, once, or never, please review today! Review with a twenty minute page response; send me a note. Send me a two word response; send me a flame. Send me whatever you want, but please, please REVIEW!

And thank you, so much, all of you, for reading!


	20. Regarding Part Three

Firstly, I'd just like to thank the following for their wonderful reviews: SangoLancer200, Kim Hughes, VaderX, Storm, DarkPrincessPyro, MysticSuper, VioletEternity, HappyJack, rain1657, PoisonousBlaze, masked-in-your-shadows, kk, Gabzilla, VixenVampireChick, XMaster, and WilliamsXev. I really, really appreciate it!

If you haven't reviewed yet, please do. It honestly makes my day!

Secondly, I have bad news. I'm really, really sorry, but the way things are going, I don't think I'm going to be able to update until the end of August. I'm going away for the summer and won't have a computer with me. I planned to bring a laptop, so I could at least type them up, but no such luck.

Anyways. I am desperately unhappy about this, but what can you do?

So I'm very sorry, but there probably won't be any updates all summer.

Thanks very much for everything; if you want to comment on this, go ahead, although I'll only have this short message up for a week or so, simply because I don't want "Into the Light" to end with this little note. Sort of ruins the effect of the last chapter :)

Thanks again, hope you all have a good summer!

Malenkaya


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